GB 1225 
.C3 T3 
Copy 1 



Issued June 7, 



S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRIGULTURE, 

WEATHER BUREAU.— BOLtETDT 43. 



'HE RIVERS AND FLOODS OF THE SACRAMENTO 
AND SAN JOAQUIN WATERSHEDS. 



Prepared under the direction of WILLIS L. MOORE, Chief U. 3. Weather Bureau. 



BY 



NATHANIEL R. TAYLOR. 

LOCAL FORECASTER. 




WASHINGTON: 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 

1913. 



•^i' 



W. B. No. 498. Issued June 7, ]9]3. 

U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, 

WEATHER BUREAU. -BULLETIN 43. 



THE RIVERS AND FLOODS OF THE SACRAMENTO 
AND SAN JOAQUIN WATERSHEDS. 



Prepared under the direction of WILLIS L. MOORE, Chief U. S. Weather Bureau 

BY 
NATHANIEL R. TAYLOR, 

LOCAL FORECASTER. 




WASHINGTON: 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 

1913. 







<^K^ 



ADDITIONAL COPIES of this publication 
-Li- may be procured from the Sxtperfntend- 
ENT OF Documents, Government Printing 
Office, Washington, D. C, at 20 cents per copy 



D. OF D. 
JUN 28 1913 






LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL 



United States Department of Agriculture, 

Weather Bureau, Office of the Chief, 

WasJiington, D. C, February 4, 1913. 
The honorable the Secretary of Agriculture, 

Washington, D. C. 
Sir: I have the honor to transmit herewith a paper by Mr. 
Nathaniel R. Taylor, local forecaster in charge of the local office of the 
Weather Bureau at Sacramento, Cal., on ''The Rivers and Floods 
in Sacramento and San Joaquin Watersheds." 

I recommend the publication of this j)aper as a bulletin of the 
Weather Bureau. 

Very respectfully, 

II. E. Williams, 

Acting Chief United States Weather Bureau. 
Approved: 

James Wilson, Secretary. 

3 



CONTENTS 



Page. 

Introduction 9 

Acknowledgments 9 

Physical characteristics of Sacramento watershed 10 

Comparative flood discharges 11 

The Sacramento Valley 11 

Normal annual precipitation, Sacramento watershed 13 

Highest, lowest, and mean stages of rivers in Sacramento watershed 15 

The Sacramento River 14 

River stations on the Sacramento 14 

Tributaries of the Sacramento 34 

The San Joaquin Drainage Basin 39 

Highest, lowest, and mean stages at river stations in San Joaquin watershed . 39 

Tributaries of the San Joaquin 54 

Tributaries of Tulare and Buena Vista Lakes 52 

Floods in the Sacramento River 59 

The floods of 1907 63 

The floods in the Sacramento and Joaquin Valleys, 1909 70 

The floods of January and February, 1911, in the San Joaquin 82 

Warnings issued by Weather Bureau 85 

Loss due to floods in the Central Valley of California 85 

The flood plane of the Sacramento River 86 

Flood basins of the Sacramento River 88 

Delta lands of the Sacramento and San Joaquin 91 

5 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 



Page. 
Figure 1. Drainage areas of the Sacramento and San Joaquin watersheds and 

location of river stations (Frontispiece.) 8 

2. Normal precipitation at 18 stations in Sacramento watershed 13 

3. Seasonal precipitation in central valleys 14 

4. Mean monthly river stages, Sacramento 15 

4a. Mean monthly river stages, Red Bluff 15 

4h . IMean montlily river stages, Colusa 16 

4c. Mean monthly river stages, Knights Landing IG 

5. Mean monthly river stages, Sacramento — A, season 1900-1901 high 

water, B, monthly mean stages (12 years); C, low- water season, 

1911-12 17 

6. Highest, lowest, and mean seasonal stages, Kennett 18 

7. Highest, lowest, and mean seasonal stages, Red Bluff 18 

8. Highest, lowest, and mean seasonal stages, Colusa 19 

9. Highest, lowest, and mean seasonal stages. Knights Landing 19 

10. Highest, lowest, and mean seasonal stages, Sacramento ( 1849-1862). . 20 
10a. Highest, lowest, and mean seasonal stages, Sacramento, (1873-1889). 20 

11. Highest, lowest, and mean seasonal stages, Sacramento (1890-1900). 21 
11a. Highest, lowest, and mean seasonal stages, Sacramento (1900-1912) . 21 

12. Highest, lowest, and mean seasonal stages, Oroville 22 

13. Highest, lowest, and mean seasonal stages, Marysville (1906-1912^. 22 
13b . Highest stages, Marysville ( 1 8G2-1906) 23 

14. Highest, lowest, and mean seasonal stages, Folsom 23 

15. Normal annual precipitation at 11 stations in San Joiujuin water- 

shed 55 

16. Mean monthly river stages, Firebaugh 40 

16a. Mean monthly river stages, I;athrop 40 

17. Mean montlily river stages, Lathrop — season 1906-7— unusually 

higli; 1911-12, unusually low, and mean stages for a 12-year 

period 40 

18. Highest, lowest, and mean seasonal stages, San Joaquin River sys- 

tem — Jjathrop 41 

19. Highest, lowest, and mean seasonal stages, San Joaquin River sys- 

tem — Merced Falls 41 

20. Highest, lowest, and mean seasoiuil stages, San Joaquin River sys- 

tem — Ja(;ksonville 41 

20a. IHghost, lowest, and mean seasonal stages, San Joaquin River sys- 
tem — Mcloncs 42 

20b. Highest, lovv.'st, and mean seasonal stages, San Joaquin River s\s- 

tem — JcMiii}^ Liiid -12 

21. Highest, l()W<\st,aiul mean seasonal stages, San Joaquin River sys- 

t.em- -Electra 43 

6 



LIST OF ILLUSTKATIONS. 7 

Figure 22. Highest, lowest, and mean seasonal stages, San Joaquin River sys- Page. 

tern— Firebaugh 43 

22b. Highest, lowest, and mean seasonal stages, San Joaquin River sys- 
tem— Friant 43 

23. Hydrographs, Sacramento River, March, 1907 — Colusa and Red 

Bluff 65 

24. Hydrograplis, Sacramento River, March, 1907 — Sacramento and 

Knights Landing 66 

25. Hydrographs, Sacramento River, March, 1907 — Oroville on Feather 66 

26. Hydrographs, Sacramento River, March, 1907, Marysville on Yuba. 65 

27. Hydrographs, Sacramento River, March, 1907 — Folsom on Amer- 

ican 67 

28. Hydrographs, Sacramento River, March, 1907 and January, 1909 — 

Kennett 72 

29. Hydrographs, Sacramento River, January, 1909 — Colusa and Red 

Bluff 73 

30. Hydrographs, Sacramento River, January, 1909 — Knights Landing 

and Sacramen to 74 

31. Hydrographs, Sacramento River, January, 1909 — Oroville on 

Feather 75 

32. Hydrographs, Sacramento River, January, 1909 — Marys\dlle on 

Yuba 75 

33. Hydrographs, Sacramento River, January, 1909 — Folsom on Amer- 

ican : . . . 76 

34. Spring and summer freshet in San Joaquin watershed March to 

• August, 1907 76 

35. Hydrographs, March, 1907 — flood, Lathrop, Firebaugh, and 

Friant 77 

36. Hydrographs, March, 1907 — flood, Jacksonville, Melones, and 

Merced Falls 78 

37. Hydrographs, March, 1907, flood, Jenny Lind 77 

38. Hydrographs, San Joaquin flood, January and February, 1909 — 

Lathrop, Friant, and Firebaugh 78 

39. Hydrogi'aphs, San Joaquin flood, January, 1909 — ^Jacksonville, 

Melones', and Merced Fails 79 

40. Hydrographs, San Joaquin flood, January and February, 1909 — 

Bellota and Jenny Lind 79 

41. Hydrographs, San Joaquin flood, January and February, 1911 — 

Lathrop, Firabaugh, and Friant 83 

42. Hydrographs, San Joaquin flood, January and February, 1911 — 

Bellota a,nd Jenny Lind .' 83 

43. Hydrogi'aphs, San Joaquin flood, January and February, 1911 — 

Jacksonville, Melones, and Merced Falls 84 

44. High water of 1862 on Stockton and Coover Mill near I'olsom on 

American 61 

45. "Wreck of Western Pacific bridge over American, January, 1909, 

flood (courtesy the Great West) 80 

46. Flood scene, 1909, in Yolo Basin, across from Sacramento, Cal. 

(courtesy the Great West) 80 

47. Tracks of Southern Pacific R. R. Co. in Yolo Basin, opposite 

Sacramento — flood 1909 (courtesy the Great AVest) 80 

48. Map of inundated region in the Sacramento Valley by floods of 

March, 1907, and January, 1909 90 



8 FLOODS OF SACRAMENTO AXD SAX .TOAQUIX WATERSHEDS. 



n'\ 




^vy^,_.^ 



Fig. 1.— The Sacramento and San Joaquin watersheds. 



THE RIVERS AND FLOODS OF THE SACRAMENTO AND SAN 

JOAQUIN WATERSHEDS. 



By Nathaniel R. Taylor, Local Forecaster. 



Introduction 



This paper w-iil be devoted to a discussion of some of tlie causes 
that modify stream flow in the Great Central Valley of California and 
to the tabulation of such river and rainfall data as are available in con- 
nection with flood periods, \\ith notes on the various floods that have 
occurred since 1849, more especially those in the Sacramento water- 
shed. A brief description of the larger streams and their watersheds 
will be given, together with distances between important points on 
the main rivers and their larger tributaries. 

Much of the information relative to floods in the early days in the 
city of Sacramento has been gleaned from the History of Sacramento 
County, Cal., by Thompson and West, and by a perusal of the old 
files of the Sacramento newspapers, the Bee and the Record Union. 

Information relative to the floods of the Feather and the Yuba 
Rivers, and to the condition of these streams during the past two 
decades, has been Idndly furnished by Mr. W. T, EUis, president of 
the Marysville Levee Commission, who has made an exhaustive 
study of floods in the watershed of the Feather- Yuba, and, who, 
more than any ottier official, is responsible for the almost impreg- 
nable levee system that has made Marysville practically immune 
from future floods. 

Mr. W. E. Meek, of Antioch, Cal., and others, with wliom the 
writer has discussed conditions in the island districts, have kindly 
supplied much valuable information, which has never before been 
published, relative to floods in the delta lands of the Sacramento 
and San Joaquin Rivers. 

In addition to the records of the Weather Bureau, from which 
river and precipitation data have been taken, a study of the various 
Water-Supply Papers of the water resources branch of the United 
States Geological Survey has been the means of securing much of 

9 



10 FLOODS OF SACRAMENTO AND SAN JOAQUIN WATERSHEDS. 

the information regarding elevations and descriptions of stream 
sources in the high Sierra. 

An article published in the American Society of Civil Engineers, b}' 
W. B. Clapp, E. C. Murphy, and W. F. Martin, has been of material 
assistance to the ^vriter, especially with respect to the areas and 
capacities of the numerous flood basins of the Sacramento Valley. 

The map, tabulations, and hydrographs printed in connection with 
this paper are the work of Mr. Hermann J. Andree, assistant observer, 
United States Weather Bureau. 

While the records of the Weather Bureau contain river gauge read- 
ings at several points on the Sacramento River as early as 1875, and 
on the San Joaquin River since 1896, it was not until May, 1906, that 
a thorough river service was inaugurated, which included stations at 
all strategic points, not only on the Sacramento and San Joaquin 
Rivers but on all important watercourses that feed those streams. 

The work of reorganizing the river service of the Great Central 
Valley was performed by Mr. James H. Scarr, local forecaster, United 
States Weather Bureau, under the direction of Prof. Willis L. Moore, 
chief of the bureau. 

The length of the Great Central Valley of California is about 500 
miles. It varies in width from a few miles at its northern limits, near 
Redding, to 50 or 60 miles in the Sacramento Valley, to as much as 
125 miles in parts of the San Joaquin Valley. It is bounded on the 
east by the Sierra Nevada and on the west by the Coast Range. 
These ranges meet on the north at Mount Shasta and again on the 
south, ^ where they are connected by the Tehachapi cross range, the 
whole being shut in, except for a narrow opening in the Coast Range 
at San Francisco, thi'ough which its drainage reaches the Pacific. 

Probably in no other part of the United States are river conditions 
so complicated as in the section under discussion, draining, as it does, 
many thousands of square miles of high mountains where heavy rains 
and melting snows feed innumerable streams, many of which often 
grow from innocent rivulets to raging torrents in a few hours' time. 

The total area drained is something over 60,000 square miles, and 
the entire output of all waterways is borne to two trunk streams, the 
Sacramento and San Joaquhi, that merge in Suisun Bay and finally 
reach the Pacific Ocean through (^arquinez Strait, San Pablo and San 
Francisco Bays. 

The table following is taken from Reports on the Control of Floods 
in the Sacramento Valley and the adjacent San Joaquin Valley, Cj\1., 
published in Document No. 81, Sixty-second (\)ngross, first session, 
and shows the magnitude of the maximum flood discharge of the 
Sacramento River, as compared with that of several well-known 
rivers of the United vStates. 



FLOODS OF SACRAMENTO AND SAN JOAQUIN WATERSHEDS. 11 



Mississippi at Vicksburg 

Mississippi above Missouri River 

Missouri 

Columbia 

Ohio 

Arkansas 

Red River 

Sacramento 



Drainage 

area above 

station 

(square 

miles). 



1,100,000 
1(55, 000 
527, 000 
237, 000 
201,700 
186, 300 
90, 000 
26, 000 



Maximum 
flood dis- 
charge 
(cubic feet 
per second 
recorded). 



1.777,000 
366, 000 
546, 000 

1,390,000 

1,233,000 
440, 000 
210, 000 

J 600,(700 



1 Estimated, 1907-1909. 

The point brought out in the above table is that if the Mississippi 
had the same discharge per square mile as that of the Sacramento 
its maximum flood discharge would exceed 25,000,000 cubio feet 
per second. At this rate it would require only a short period of max- 
imum flood discharge to convert the Mississippi Valley from Vicks- 
burg to St. Louis into an inland sea of considerable depth. 

While the great valley of California is one continuous area it is 
popularly known as two separate valleys — the Sacramento on the 
north and the San Joaquin on the south. These valleys meet at a 
point contiguous to the Mokelumne and Cosumnes Rivers, and their 
drainage, as has been stated, finds a common outlet to the sea. 

At one time the Mokelumne River connected with the Sacra- 
mento River through Tyler Slough at Walnut Grove and Tyler 
emptied into the Sacramento at its junction with Georgiana Slough. 
Tyler Slough now being dammed causes all of the water of the 
Mokelumne and Cosumnes Rivers to flow into the San Joaquin. 
Therefore, the dividing line between the drainage area of the Sacra- 
mento and San Joaquin Valleys is formed by artificial levees that 
have been thrown up by reclamation districts. 

River and flood conditions in the two valleys being somewhat 
dissimilar, they will be separately discussed in this paper. 

The Sacramento Valley. 

The Sacramento drainage basin extends from Mount Shasta 
southward to Suisun Bay and from the Trinity Mountains and the 
Coast Range eastward to the Sierra Nevada. The floor of the Sac- 
ramento Valley may be said to begin at about Redding, where its 
width is only a few miles, and to extend southward for a distance of 
about 150 miles. Above Redding the valley narrows rapidly and 
becomes a canyon. It widens as the city of Sacramento is ap- 
proached, being somewhat over 50 miles at its 'wadest point. 
The level part of the valley comprises an area of some 4,600 square 
miles. That part included between the summits of the abutting 



12 FLOODS OF SACRAMENTO AND SAN JOAQUIN WATERSHEDS. 

mountains comprises about 19,000 square miles, or nearly 13,000,000 
acres. 

The eastern watershed of the Sacramento Valley ranges in elevation from 10,000 
feet in the south to 6,000 or 7,000 feet in the north. The western watershed ranges 
from 4,000 feet in the south to 9,000 feet in the north, and the northern watershed 
from 4,000 to 8,000 feet, exclusive of Mount Shasta, which has an elevation of 14,380 
feet. (Water-Supply Paper No. 251, U. S. Geological Survey.) 

The mean annual precipitation in the Sacramento watershed 
increases with altitude and is greatest at about 5,000 feet. Beyond 
this elevation it decreases. It increases as the upper end of the 
valley is approached, being about 18 inches at Rio Vista, 20 inches 
at Sacramento city, 23 inches at Chico, 25 inches at Red Bluff, and 
36 inches at Redding. There is a noticeable increase in the mean 
annual precipitation as the foothill sections are approached and a 
marked increase thence through the hills and up the flanks of the 
Sierras. (See figs. 2 and 3.) 

In figure 2 the shaded columns indicate the annual precipitation 
in inches for the following points, viz: 



station. 


Eleva- 
tion. 


Station. 


Eleva- 
tion. 


No. 1. Sacramento .... 


Feet. 

71 

213 

307 

552 

624 

970 

1,049 

1,1 3S 

1,350 


No. 10. Auburn 

No. 11. Dunsmuir 

No. 12. Colfax 

No. 13. Nevada City 


Feet. 
1,360 


No. 2. Palermo 

No. 3. Red Bluff 


2.285 
2.421 


No. 4. Redding 

No. 5. Fruto 


2.580 


No. 14. Grass Valley 


2,690 


No. 6. Newcastle 


No. 15. Edgewood 


2,955 


No. 7. Shasta 

No. 8. Delta 

No. 9. Upper Lake 


No. 16. Sisson 

No. 17. Bowmans Dam 

No. IS. Summit 


S.So.'i 
5,500 
7,017 



In 1909, 113.85 inches of precipitation occurred at Bowmans 
Dam and 114.85 inches at Delta. At Magalia, in Butte County, 
there were 150.62 inches in the same year. 

In the diagram on page 14 the figures at the top of columns have 



the following significance: 

1 equals season 1906-7. 

2 equals season 1907-8. 
8 equals season 1908-9. 



4 equals season 1909-10. 

5 equals season 1910-11. 
G oqtials season 1911-12. 



The year is divided into two fairly woll-dc^fmod seasons — the dry 
and the wet. The dry season extends from May to October, in- 
clusive, and the wet from November to April, inclusive. More than 
75 per cent of the annual precipitation occurs during the four months 
ending with March. Tlie precipitation that occurs in the floor of 
the valley, that is, south of Redding, is invariably in the form of 
rain. Above the 4,000-foot level it is mostly in tlie form of snow, 
although heavy snow sometimes falls at altitudes as low as 2,000 
feet. 



FLOODS OF SACRAMENTO AND SAN JOAQUIN WATERSHEDS. 

(In inches.) 



13 




Fig. 2.— Normal annual precipitation at 18 stations in the Sacramento watershed. 



14 FLOODS OF SACRAMENTO AND SAN JOAQUIN WATERSHEDS. 

Ill the report of the commissioner of ])iiblic works in 1(S94 the 
total area of the Sacramento Valley is given as 4,250 square miles, 
2,510 of which are described as highlands — tliat is, hot subject to 
overflow; 450 scjuare miles of lowlands overflowed occasionally by 
high floods; and 1,250 square miles of lowlands overflowed i)eri()di- 
cally. The above figures are, of course, now subject to revision on 
account of the fact that many of the lowlands included in the report 
have been reclaimed, much of which are now practically immune 
from even the highest floods. 




Fig. 3. — Seasonal precipitation at three stations in the central valleys for six seasons. 

(In inches.) 

The Sacramento Kiver. 

The Sacramento River rises on the southwestern slopes of Mount 
Shasta and flows almost due south for a distance of about 370 miles, 
and discharges into Suisun Bay. It is navigable as far as Red Blulf, 
265 miles from its mouth. It emerges from its rocky canyons a 
short distance above Redding, but is mostly confined within banks 
of sufficient height to carry its maximum flood discharge until a 
point a short distance below Red BluH" is reached; thence it flows 
through a practically level plain. 

The lower courne of tlie river for a dislance of nearly 100 miles occupies a ridtxe from 
5 to 20 feet higher than the troughs of the nearly i)arallel Hood basins on each side, 
which are from 2 to 7 miles from the river. 

HIVEH STATIONS ON THE SACRAMENTO. 

The river service on the Sacramento Jiiver now embraces seven 
regular river and rainfall stations, where gage readings are taken 



FLOODS OF SACEAMENTO AND SAN JOAQUIN WATERSHEDS. 15 

daily the year round. During the seven months ending with May, 
river stages and 24-hour precipitation are telegraphed daily at 7 
a. m., and oftener, should floods be imminent, or in progress, to the 
river center at Sacramento. In addition, to the stations named, 
special stations are maintained at Dunsmuir and Sisson, from which 
reports of heavy rains are wired. 

The following are the regular river and rainfall stations named, 
from north to south: Kennett, Red Bluff, Jacinto, Colusa, Knights 
Landing, Sacramento, and Rio Yista. The numerical values of 
highest, lowest, and mean stages of the rivers for each month and 
the year follow in a series of tables, and the same values are presented 
graphically in figures 4 to 14, inclusive. 

Mean monlhly river stages, Sacramento si/stem. 



FT. 

22 
20 
18 
16 
14 
12 
10 
8 
6 
4 
2 




a 
CO 



o 
O 



> 

o 

z 



o 
Q 



c 



LJ. 



a 
S 



D. 
< 



IE 






"3 



< 



SACRA 



MENTO 



1 



m 



m 



i 



i 



i 



i 



i 



i 



i 



i 



1 



^ 



I 



i 



i 



1 



i 



I 



i 



i 



1 



i 



z 



^ 



I 



i 



i 



i 



i 



^ 



i 



i 



i 



i 



i 



i 






^ 



■ 



i 









^ 



^ 






^ 



7P 



z 



^ 



i 



1 



i 



I 



i 



I 



2 



i 



i 



2 



1 



^ 



la 



i 



I 



i 



i 



i 



1 



^ 



^ 



1 



Fig. 4.— Mean monthly river stages. 



FT. 

14 

12 

10 

8 

6 

4 

2 





Q. 
CO 



o 
O 



> 

o 

z 



u 
(1) 

O 



c 
cd 



0) 

ll 



L. 



d 
< 









3 



50 

3 

< 



RED BLUFF. 



i 



^ 



I 



I 



i 



i 



i 



^ 



i 



i 



i 



^ 



1 



1 



i 



xa. 



M. 



1 



1 



^ 



,^L 



Fig. 4a.— Mean monthly river stages. 



IG I I.(HH)S OK SACRAMENTO AND SAX .JOAQllN W A I EHSliEDS. 



Unm mnnthhj river singes, Sacramento sys^fm— Continued. 



FT 

18 

16 

14 

12 

10 

8 

6 

4 

2 





Q. 
0) 

CO 



o 
O 



> 

o 

z 



o 
Q 



c 

CO 

"3 






1. 

CO 



a 
< 



cd 



c 

"3 



3 
"3 



be 
< 



C L U SA. 



^ 



i 



^ 



i 



i 



^ 



i 



I 



i 






i 



I 



^ 



^ 






i 



1 



1 



i 



I 






1 



i 



i 



1 



2c 



i 



1 



I 



^ 



^ 



I 



E 



g 



1 



i 



^ 






Fi . lb.— Mcau monthly river stages. 



FT. 

If) 

14 

12 

10 

8 

fi 

4 

2 





a 

CO 



n 



o 
O 



> 

o 

z 



rr 



O 

<D 

Q 



KNIGHTS LANDING. 



■ 



i 



CO 



U. 



CO 



1 



1 



i 



i 



1 



i 



i 



i 



I 



i 



1 



1 



1 



< 



i 

i 



CO 



1 









1 



c 



^ 



1 



3 



1 



b£) 

< 



M 



Fig. 4e.— Mean monthly river stages. 



FLOODS OF SACRAMENTO AND SAN JOAQUIN WATERSHEDS. 17 



Mean monthly river stages, Sacramento system, Sacramento, Cal. — Continued. 



FT. 

24 
22 
20 
18 

16 
14 

12 

10 

8 

6 

4 

2 



SEP 


OCT 


MOV. 


DEC, 


JAN. 


FEB. 


MAR 


>AP/?. 


MAY 


JUN. 


JUL 


AUG. 


































/ 


^ 


\ 




















/ 


* 




^^ 


'^ 














> 


/ 


/ 
/ 




^■n 


\ 


I 












/ 


/ 

t 
4 

t 








\ 


\\ 












/ 


t 
/ 
/ 

r 








A 


\^ 










/ 


/ 
/ 








y 


/ 




1 

% 
\ 






V 


/ 


/ 

/ 




/ 




^ 




\ 






y 


4 


• 




/ 


/ 








\ 




V 




C 




y 


/ 












\ 


<t 








m^^ 














\ 


V 


















































A\ 



Fig. 5.— Mean monthly river stages. A, season 1900-1901 high water; B, mean stage 12 years; 

C, low-water season, 1911-12. 

81870°— Bull. 43—13 2 



18 FLOODS OF SACRAMENTO AND SAN JOAQUIN WATERSHEDS. 



Highest, lowest, and mean seasonal stages, Sacramento River system. 

(Infeet.^ 



34 t 

32 

30 

28 

26 

24 

22 

20 

18 

16 

14 

12 

10 

8 

G 

4 


2 



Z 



I 



/ 906-07 1907-08 /90S-09 



I 



i 



I 



i 



I 



M 



M 



I 



P- 



I 



i 



M 



I909-/0 



KENN 



1 



i 



i 






i 






i 



zsaL. 



M 



(9/0-// 



ETT 



1 



i 



i 



1 



zs 



223 



i 



i 



I 



I 



=1 



S^ 



M 



I9//-/2 



^ 



1 



1 



i 



^=^ 



Fig. ().— Highest, lowest, aud mean stages. 




O:^/9O3-O'/\J9e¥-0S\/90S-O6 ^906-07 \f907-08 



i9oa 




RED BLurr. 



I 



I 



^ 



^ 



i 



I 



i 



i 



i 



i 



i 



^ 



^ 



i 



^ 



1 



I 



i 



^ 



i 



ae 



i^ 



^ 



i 



i 



ii 



il 



Fig. 7.— Highest, lowest, and mean stages. M-^ Missing. 



FLOODS OF SACRAMENTO AND SAN JOAQUIN WATERSHEDS. 19 



Highest, lowest, and mean seasonal stages, Sacramento River system — Continued. 

(In feet.) 




Fig. 8. — Highest, lowest, aud mean stages. 



/ 899-00 



1900-01190/ -o2 /902^o3 



1903- O-^ 




/908-O9 



I909- 10 



I9IO-II 19// -12 



20 

14 
12 
10 K 



IN6. 



^ 



^ 



^ 



i 



i 



i 



^ 



'A 



^ 



i 



i 



i 



i 



i 



'^^ 



i 



i 



i 



i 



i 



ii 



i 



i 



^ 



:^ 






■^ 



iiii 



ilii 



^i 



ii 



^i 



ii 



i_i 



2 P 
^ 
-2 



^ 



P 



tWAt. 



mi 



m. 



^ 



^-, 



i-i 



^ 



z 



Fig. 9.— Highest, lowest, and naean stages. 



20 FLOODS OF SACRAMENTO AND SAN JOAQUIN WATERSHEDS. 



Highest, lowest, and mean seasonal stages, Sacramento River system — Continued. 

(In feet.) 



/4V9SO I8S0-5I I85I:S2 I8S2-S3 f8TS-S^ \/aS¥ ■ SS\/gSS- S6\l8S6 ■ 57 



I8S7-S8 I95a-S9 f8S9-60 I8*0bl l$H-62 



SACRAMENTO. 



28 
26 
24 
22 
20 
18 
16 
14 
12 
10 



i 



^ 



i 



i 



i: 



I 



i 



^ 



i 



ij 



i 



i 



1 



i 



i 



i 



i 



i 



i 



i 



i 



i 



i 



^ 



i 



i 



i 



i 



i 



i 



^ 



i 



i 



I 



i 



i 



i 






^mMo 



i 



i^ 



io 



M£ 



m. 



^^ 



i^!^ 






]^ 



^ 



M 



M 



M 



M 



M 



Fig. 10.— Highest, lowest, and mean stages. 




Fig. 10a.— Highest, lowest, and mean stages. 



FLOODS OF SACKAMENTO AND SAN JOAQUIN WATERSHEDS. 21 



Highest, lowest, and mean seasonal stages, Sacramento River system — Continued, 

(In feet.) 



/890-?/ 



/a?/- 92 



/892-93 



/893-9¥ /89'/^-9S 



/e9S-96 



/ 996 -97 



/897-98 



/S98-99 



/999-0O 



SACRAME 



NTO, 



28 
26 
24 
22 
20 
18 
16 
14 
12 
10 



1 



71 



i 



^ 



i 



i 



I 



^ 



i 



^ 



i 



I 



I 



i 



i 



^ 



i 



i 



i; 



i 



i 



i 



y/. 



i 



i 



I 



i 



i 



i 



i 



i 



I 



i 



i 



i 



1 



i 



I 



i 



i 



I 



i 



1 



i 



i 



I 



i 



i 



i 



I 



i 



i 



i 



i 



1 



i 



i 



i 



i^ 



i 



i 



i 



m. 



i 



ii 



ii 



11 



i 



e 




ii 



ii 



ii 





ii 



ii 



ii 



ii 



ii 



vmym^^WA^vmy^vm^^vM^WA^vm^vMmvA^ 



Fig. 11.— Highest, lowest, and mean stages. 



l<)O'^-OS\/9OS-O6\l'i06-O7\l9O7-08 




/902-03 /9030¥ 



Fig. Ua.— Highest, lowest, and mean stages. 



22 FLOODS OF SACRAMENTO AND SAN JOAQUIN WATERSHEDS. 



Highest, lowest, and mean seasonal stages, Sacramento River sys/f'm -Continued. 

(In feet.) 




Fig. 12.— Highest, lowest, and mean stages. 




FiQ. 13.— Highest, lowest, and mean stages. 



FLOODS OF SACRAMENTO AND SAN JOAQUIN WATERSHEDS. 23 



Highest, lowest, and mean seasonal stages, Sacramento River system— Continued. 

[nighest only for Marysville, 1862-1906.] 

(In feet.) 



22 
20 
18 
16 
14 

12 
10 

8 
6 
4 
2 
^ 



/862 



^ 



i 



/S67 



i 



/S7S 



1 



1=1 



/ss/ 



/396 



/9f9 



1901 



M ARYSVII-LE. 



^ 



I 



Va 



i 



i 



i 



=1 



i 



^ 



1 



i 



JTH 



S3 

i 



i 



I 



i 



I 



I 



I I i i 



i 



i 



1 



i 



i 



i 



i 



i 



/^<?3 



/9^V^ 



I 



i 



i 



i 



rf 



i 



I 



i 



I 




i 






i 



i 



i 



i 



i 



i 



I 



^ 



/906 



i 



i 



i 



i 



i 



^ 



Fig. 1.3b.— Highest stages. 




Fig. 14.— Highest, lowest, and mean stages. 



24 FLOODS OF SACRAMENTO AND SAN JOAQI'IN WATERSHEDS. 



o 

» 

< 

< 



s 


e 


-u 


H 

DO 


►s; 


.2 


S 


>o 


^ 


o 




o: 


S 


1 


pii 


r< 




> 


O 

e 
v 





« 



So 



^ 



->C <>> — — w lO N 
05 »0 -^ ^ TT c^ ;£ 



«^ X o -^ •* o o 
ic :^ :^ c^ c^i — « 



C^l O OO to C5 C^l 3C 



^ I 

o I 



OJ CO t- ixi -^ t>. r^ 



w 



ac «© Ofo a us o 



S 



w 



00 »CO I<l ■* ■^ 



t--. •«*< u? o: rc r^ 

c4 o-^ ' ' 



O! oooas o 

OC -^ !>i •"T ' c^ 



t^ re o w -^ OS 



00<N (N C<5 <N 

d o -^ " ' 

I I 



lO 05 X O I^ X 

>o-^ oc c^ ' X 



' I I 



i 'd — ■ 



CO iC X X 



■ Op Oi '-" '^ ^N 

1 $ s s s ^ 



< ? 



w 



coco 
d 
I 



d 



h»— t-O cc 



»o,-i«c- 
d 



C (N O: ;i ^ 



O «0 •* W OS 



» C^ CO w 

d ■ ■-." 



X ■«f o in ^ X 
CO c^ CO -^ -"J- c<i 



C: X O t^ ?^ O 

CM ^ ^ ■ ~4 c<i 



O X iC X lO Ol 

"5 c^ "5 (N d r^ 



T-H CO ■fi O O CO 

X ri d CO r^ c^i 



oxr--co"50 

1/5 ^ ifj c4 "5 C>i 



X — 'o o X •>*< 
— " CO d ■'j! d -^ 



■«»<C<»C<I ■«»< 05.05 

d CO r^ «.o >c H 



^ -^ IC CO '^ o 

icM uico c4 ^ 



CM 0> lO w O Tjt 

o.ifi 1-1 d t« in 



o — M cj 

f- op 05 -^ — — ^ 

.L jT I 4^ j^ j^ X 

c& ^ ^ 05 o^ OS o 



FT.OODS OF SACRAMENTO AND RAN JOAQUIN WATERSHEDS. 25 



'W 


w 


s 




c 


s: 




+J 


•♦o" 


3 


00 


. o 


1 




o 


>>+2 






- 


"Sa 


CO 


C3 o 


<W 




1^ 


^'*^ 


CJ5 


.Hn^^ 


^ 


wj — ■ 


Oj PI 


1 


e.n 



^ 


.u 




:i^ 


« 


o 


(T*, 


-I-' 


O 


^ 




s 


© 




ti 




>-,a3 






mP5 



a< 



;^ 



CO 00 io •* c^ 00 o 1-H t>^ >o CO 00 CO CO 



oooocc<M-^ot^coa5-*ot^>o 
T-H-^ '■^oo'^cs'ocooi-^coc^ 



t^rHr»c<ie>icoo^Oi-t>o»co3 



■^,-l0500OC0O00r-<'^'OCCt^ 

oso6rH»foaJ>oot-^^io>oco 



f^COOOOOOlOt^OOOOOOJOCO 

c-i •■^5 ' T-i IN IN ' CO CO — ^ i>i T-^ T-^' 



w 



w 



r-Tjir^Tttoio'^oiocsooiooo 



w 



w 



00iN00'*00t-iNCOCC>T-l'ti"* 
U5 Tl? i6 'O '6 * -^ CO i-H UO CO .-i 



rHi-HlOOl-^OOOOOOOC+l 

CO .-I IN IN CO ' ' .-! i-H (N i-H .-I 



■^lO-^-^OCOiCOO^OcO 



'^005'OIN'OOOi— l'<*<0>t^-* 

(NlN'Ot-^CO ' "rt'r-IcOi-HrH 



■^T-Hioooococoaiooooco 

I 



cococoio-^co»ot^Ot-~c»-^< 

t--^(NCO^'OrHCOi-HCO(NiO,-H 



iOCOCX)iNiNCO-*i— lOiOt-HCO 



us.— nHi-H-^weooscocooco 

o ._; ^' rt' 

I I I I 



000(NTt<coiOOOO'*QO-*i 

OOC^-^r-it-^ ' 'r-IcOINi-I.-^ 



C0lN^r-H0iC0?0»Hl©T-HO0fl 
d tA ■ rH r-i r-^■ 

I I I 



»0Tl<iHeiC0C«-tl05i0OO<N 



I I I 



CO-^(NOt^COt^!NOCOO.-l-t< 

.-Id ' ' 'O ' * .-i ' rt rt rH 



(N 

a> • . . . o -H (N o 

^.— llNC0-t<'OOl^C»05r-.r— .-I .-I 

<35QrtCHcoTj<io-ir~ood)0'-< os 
S oo odoooooo.-! rH oi 

00 O 05 05 Ol 03 <35 05 05 05 05 C5 05 00 



< 


"3 


'Ot^OO>OrH.-(IN(NOOCOt^ 

•COCOCO>0-^-^>6cO>f3CO-^iN 


IN 


4-i 


© 


iO<NCO.-<-*COINCOI>-COOCOO 


l» 


1 1 


o 


USCOINOCOrHt^lNiftOOINO 


1 


d ^ ^* ^ ^ ,H 
1 1 




lOr-HlOINlO-^Tt^lCOOlCOlOC^) 


>o 


1 1 




d 

(3 

© 


■*iNOCOiNC35IN.-|-^OOe<l010 


(N 


d r-H (NIN.-,r-<.-<.-<rH 

1 


o 


lO^COCliO'^^iOOO'OOiCiN 


1 


d ._,._,• ^' ^' ._• ^ 

1 1 




couo-^'^^ioot^asco'^'^o 


CO 


d rH Co' .-1 CO IN rt' IN rH in" (N 




© 


C0(NC000l'^-*05O'ti.-(Ot^.-l 
d.-HiN '-^'iNiOCOC^COINCOCO 


1^ 

IN 


o 


COOiO-^iOCOOt^Oi-^-^-^O 


CO 

1 


d rH CO.-ICO(Nr-<lNr-IINlN 




<NO«C>OiOO00OOrHr-iOO 

rHNCOr-HlCeoddcC'^lN'filO 
T-H 


00 
d 


cs' 


© 


iO.-iOO"305(N.-i«Or^T-(i:0«C> 

INC0'^C0t-^C0d>OC0r^C0'O>O 




o 


^INOOOiOO-^OOOOINt^OO 
rHiNCOr-Ii-6c0C0':l<COCOiN'^CO 


rH 




OOCO-^OC^COOOCOt-^OJCOCOCO 

coiO'^TfHddTPddio-^t^d 


00 
rH 




1 


00.. OOi^05iOr-lO>OlOCOO 

'*co'*drH»6oc3dcod>oo6"^ 


d 


O 

1-:! 


COC-1-*rHCOOOlOC0050^.-l 

coco-^-^o6-^ddco>6T}!dco 


CO 


bC 


OlO'^00't<O»ftO0500.-lOrH 
d d d r-H iO d l« TJH Tj! t^ t-^ lO 05 
rH r-l .—1 W .—1 rH 


•o 

UO 

(N 


o 


C3 

© 


C0-^C0IN00O0500(N-*'^IN!N 

dt~^ddr--^05rHcoioodo5dio 

rH T-l rH T-1 


d 


o 


0>(Nr-<NTtiO'*t--.0000»00-.*< 

iN-^-^iodiodt^coddco(N 


IN 


■ s 


iN-+iooocoo»ooor^aO(Nu»oo 
coiNdoiddiocddiNdusd 

(M._,rtrHlNCS*jeM r-l.rtO»^ 


00 

d 

IN 



a> OrHiN 

r-.rHlMCO'^'Owt^OOOirHrHrH 

05OrH(NC0!l"0dr^00CJjOr-l 
OJOOOOOQOOOOrHrH 
00OiO5O5O5O5O5O5O5OlOiO5Oi 



26 FT.OODS OF SACRAMENTO AND SAN JOAQTTTN WATERSHEDS. 



•<s. 2 



"^ O 



1^ 


^ 


^«: 






C 


•TS 


o 


5? 


-1.^ 


« - 


> 


r< 


CJ 


S 


w 


o 




s 


03 


r< 


3 




o 


e 

<« 


O 




> 
o 

X5 


00 


ca 




0^ 


C 




CO 


a 


se 


l-H 


« 






Tl 


S 


s 


'tt 


£i 


s 


■I-' 


C3 








O 

PQ 
<! 
Eh 



>3 





a 




O5occ«: 


c^ 


1 




to CM -r 'C 


t^ 




<v 


i— t 














f^ 














C3 




OCOOC 


o 


3 


o 


cc i^ CO c»: 


CO 


X5 


»J 














_• 


>o 0=0 50 


o 














CD <N ro cc 


CM 




h-i 


t-IIMr^— ■ 


(N 












a 


■^t^r-HO- 


QC 


u 




IC CO ■* cc 


-XI 




'oa>»cc 


o 


2 


o 


e^I 'cM-^ 




c 


H^ 
























J3 


(NOOOC 


o 




tie 


OCMrH-<t 


M 




w 


r-l W »-( l-H 


CM 




a 


t^ O CC C 


•^ 




ca 


C<l rM CO CM 


CM 




s 






a> 














,Q 


o 


-* t- .-H C 


(^ 


S 


i-H (N'^ 




o 


H^ 














^ 


OJC^IC* 


O 




ti 


OCM t 1" 


^ 












w 








a 


-f oc >o ■* 


CO 




C3 


r-l (N 


tA 




s 












,i2 




-^ ic <M c; 


o 


a 


o 






> 


^ 






o 








A 


•<*< <M Ti< rt 


TfH 




ti 


rt (M I^ CC 


f^ 




w 








a 
















03 
















a; 














1.1 


S 












































X2 


j5 














O 


O 














o 


hJ 














O 
















J3 
















tuC 
































s 
















a 






o- 










C6 






o 








v.-! 












u. 




























^ 








cc 






a 








d 






ft 


A 


























M 


si 






c 








ij 
















r! 
















l; 














i» 


H 




































c — 


Oi 






00 a 










is* So- 


1 






^ 



a 


nual. 
















a 

c3 




o 








o 


6 












-: 








t-5 


a 

C8 


>c 








o 




CM 

T-H 








si 
be 

S 




<x^ 







— 








CM* 




o 




o 








-a 




.— 1 

CO 








c3 






to -^ CO 
CO cm' Tf 




o 




o> t^ O t^ 

c4 r-; CO -<■ 






to T-l ■»1< ■'f 

■^ CO >o "O 




a 

c3 
1^ 


■* CM CM -^ >0 
CO »0 "^ »0 M' 


c 

h3 


»0 "O CM -rf -^ 
CM ■* CO <-H r-J 




4.0 

6.1 

5.6 

10.0 

10.0 


c3 




CM !0 CM i-H lO 

■^ to t-^ 00 « 


o 

h5 


OCMtOO O 

CO "5 lO CO CO 




4.6 
10.2 
11.7 
22.0 

22.0 


K* 


3 


or 
1 


cr 
1 




2 

5 







FLOODS OF SACRAMENTO AND SAN JOAQUIN WATERSHEDS. 27 



K 



u, 


x; 


K 










o 


^ 


s 


e; 


[/) 


a; 




u 


s 


o 


o 






V. 




o 




t: 


a 


^ 


fci 


X 


en 


Oi o 


01 


1— 1 




0) 


OJ > 






03 

o 


« 


-c 


o 



Q, S 



S c 
^ o 

.a -2 

to C3 

^ O 
MO 



•-^ .— ' GC cc; CO I -- 




>3 



w 



ffi 



.-I -^ OC t^ I^ 02 

CO ^ 05 S> OC -)■ 



c^i csj ^ e^ c^ oc 



■^ «C -J5 CD O CO 

CO >d o4 o o6 "o 



-f 05 I^ -f CO — I ^ 

I -^ :>i ^3 CO c^' c4 cs 



' cic o or, CO ci 



CO T-i CD a> o o 
1-^ -r c5 <o o4 CO 



t^ TjH CO C^5 O 05 
CO CO «D CO -^ '-' 



COC^ O ■* CO 



tJC -^ 00 CO 0> CO 
CO CO CD oi ^ CO 



cc 1 - c^ -* cc -r 

co' c-i CO ■-< "-i T-H 



UO CO 

co<m' 



coo 
coei 



lOt^fMCOC) <N 

Tt CD oi CO o4 C5 



't<00 CO 



■* O CO 



lO '-^ -H W CO o 
CO CS CN •--" —J c-i 



coo OO CI c 

CO e<i (N t-i --; T-I 



t^ ■* t^ lO 00 I^ 
CO (N <N 1-^ i-! CO 



■ c — (M a> 

t^ 00 O; — < -H rt T-> 

CD l~ G0 05 O — I CO 

COQC— <--< O 

O) O) O) C- w3 o c^ 






OCD 

oooi 



»-H CO ■* r-* 05 05 >— I 



'^ IM' Ci i-H r-I 


cm' 


t-O r-H O CO t» 

CO cvi CM 1-J t-H 


t^ 


00CDO5 -^CD C^ 
"^ e4 CM rH (>I >-H 


CO 


O '^ Oi o> t^- o> 

"O CO CO T-J CO T-H 


-*< 

CO 


00 CO as -t< CD CM 

■^ (m' cm rH C^i i-H 


CI 



CM CM lO -*i •— I >-< 

r-I Ttl i6 cm' 'O CO 



CO 00 ■*! CO CM lO 

03 'd t-^ CO 00 >o 



>0 CO CO ■* CM CM 

r^ -*< "d CM id CO 



w 



00 CO CM iC CO CO 
r-I t-^ OJ ^' O C 



Oi t^ Oi 1^ O CO 
CM 00 O CO cm' O 



OO CD 05 CO 1-H ,-1 

o t -^ 00 -^ o t^ 



w 



Tt" CO CO Ol ^-1 05 

id cr CO 00 't "d 



w 



00 X r-J CO t- O 

05 CM >d CM CD I^ 



on t^ ic CO CM CO 

>d 00 cooJ CO id 



O 00 lO CO C 00 



■* OC I-^ 1-H CO 00 

CM c^i t^ 00 ci aj 



CO CO lO CO CD -+I 

00 O id CO OO T)! 



s© 00 C: 01< ' 



• o ^ CM a> 

J^ or. Ci r-^ rt ^ ?-( 

CO I^ 00 05 O >-< CD 

o c^ oS ^ o o c^ 



28 FLOODS OF SACEAMENTO AND SAN JOAQUIN WATERSHEDS. 



1^ 
1 



Co 






to 

o 



C>s 









00 



O 

o 



H 



a 

cS 

o 

e8 
CQ 

> 
O 

c3 






c3 O 



J5 a; 



O 

^ (-05 



^ 



lO 






a> 



03 









O) ■ 



•f.S 
•S w 









l:^ 



O5O»CvJI^.-1CCIMC0t»00t^<Mr0 

— ' r-' OS ;f o> 1 - i>^ 00 »o 00 -^ 1-^ oi 



ooiNoosocor^cocoTjtr^Tfo 

■^co"*c5o6'coioe>4iooi--^co 









K 



S 



W 



OCMOOO<Nt-(-<^0505'OCOOO 
Oi 00 r-H ■-< T»< CO CO 'O C^ — ^ 'O 



lo 't as t^ i6 (r4 CO im' e^ t-^ c^i 



(N00t^<MOiasC0'CC'Ht^<-l 
CCi-HCO'OC^COtD'N'O'OO'-H 



rH i^ i^ o O/ "o 03 1-^ o ic e^t 00 
'6 <N 00 00 "^" c^ CO <N c4 lo 1-5 



e^ic^ooo(Ncoo»oNi-ie^io 

C>^ rt' >-I ,-5 lO CS CO <N »-5 ci 



■*Tt-^(Nt^OfO-*-^COOC-^ 
OOC0?0t^C0?C>C0>0C0>0'-H 



050-*(M^e^o(N.-iioco!o 

(M'l-Hr-H.-icdC^COC^''-*'-' 






00t^O'O05C0>0 00O^O00 

« c<i >f3 N oi c4 CO e^' CO (N T-' 



l~«5a5l^«OCOO500-*0C^lM 

c; ' ' * CO r4 CO (N 



O ' ' * cm" C^ CO <N 



eo5CfOC5coo«eo«De<iiO'o 



-r >o o r - X 



I I I 

1 -- iM CO ,-.,_.-,-_ w. 






n OS 






a 

^ 



W 



W 



w 



s 



w 



I - r-l CM -t" >C 

I- i~ !>D 05 ci 



-1" i^ -r (N o o 

O so 00 t~ t~ CO 



t^oocMi-icMeMcooce — oooc 

O ' <N — <" 'T co' O -^ 'cm ' —5 



u»io-r~o; «et~-^»«CMeo"re>i 

o ' — 5 ' CO e^i -r" co' ' r-^' ■ " t-i 

I I 



ot^-H(oeM05CMOcocM'*.-i'^ 
r^' -H co' ^' lo CO oc «" -^ CO "cm 



Ol "* O CD CO CO "O CM f CM C'l IC l~ 
-^ cm' -"i; cm' iC "5 C> OC* CM ifj ^ -r 



oeMC5t^e^05e«30'«!"co»oeMeo 

rH rH e>i ^* -t CO 50 « -^' CO ' CM 



eMocooococoocoa>ic^-*'r 
coco"5coi^<ccoC5cor~eMoceM 



COSDOCOCOl-OCOCMOi-rOOC 
■C«005C0"iJ>>0CMOa>C0CMiO 



coooooco50coooCT>toeM050 
CO -^ "O CO t^ i^ CO o co' t^ cm' oi CM 



■^COSOOCMOIOOO-^'OCO'S'OC 

I^0'-<OC'^'-Hcc'eoo6»-<«5COO 



!•- CO >jo CM -^ -H -r CO -^ —I t^ •-' •?: 

Cri— HCM'-<'OCO'6-toicooo''rsi 



>ccMoooC)•*oe<^t^cDccT^cM^o 

l^C'-<odT(<eMCOCOQC--<lOCO«3 



oocMooo>occor^t^iocMaco5-r 

CrCM'cOCMld'^cdlCO'»'<-<'«1"'-< 



CO «0 -^ O CO -^ 00 I^ -^ OC t- « CO 
^Oco»OcoiCcCcOO^'CiCCO 



ooocMOooooooosoccocM'-'; — < 

05 O ■-< CO "t CO if^ 'O 00 •* CM -^ itj 



CM C5 I- Cr. CM CM 0> CM CM CO CO iC I- 

CM --<■ -t ;c 1 ~ I ~ od 1^' — u-i ic CO si 



lO >0 I- -f ■* 1^ 
CO -^ Tji T^; I-^ lO 



•f; CM o 1" t^ Tf 

cm' CM CM CM CO CO 



OCM f 1" O 'if 
O I- 00 CO ci t>^ 



CO Ol US CO CO '-' 
CO 1-H CO lO «5 00 



CO t^ -^ CO O : 

"O c: 'd TT" cs I 



C* CD 1(5 »-4 «0 -M 



OJO O— ifiM OS 

"-i-^CMro-T'C'v^i^accJ — «-^ i-i 

ii^C^.c^^i.l-i.liii^ d; 



FLOODS OF SACRAMENTO AND SAN JOAQUIN WATERSHEDS. 29 



« 



s,5 






>2 « 

£S 

v. o 

o > 

^5 

li 

0,02 

%^ 
«7 o 

.gs 

CO 5 

be t-i 

•*-* C3 

CQCQ 



Oi>/5 20i— KMOlt^COOJCO-^XXi 



»OOOOb-303C'-HiO-^T-<t^lOCD 



-rCJ-OIMOSOiOCl^OCSOJIM 



-i<iox»0'*t^es->*'0>tcacc0i-i 



ot^oc^ooooo«cc«eo^a> 



a 



a 






050sOCOcD05COt^OO^rt<t-- 



lOiOi— icOOOOiC^3«OOC^I 









i050C5iCO"*C0-^e»5t^T)<t^ 






«0i00>O<NTt'00MC0Or0O 



u'5t--.COt^Ot^COOCOOe^O 









t~ oc t^ t--^ c^ t^ 00 o6 16 o ^ lo 



w o ^ c^ 

I I I I I I I I I I I I I 
C50— <c^c^-i<«o-r>t^x cso— ' 
Qr;oociooooooc— "— 1 

00C^7^O>O2O^O^^3^C^C^w^C^ 



t^O00OC0:0Oe^(N(NO0300 » 



An- 


3 

C 


■ t^ »0 00 t^ O X ■^ O -f OS IM •.~ 

■ lOTlJTjSio-^Tt'lCCMJOW-^OC 


CO 

•-< 


-1-5 
< 


1^ 


I OS OO CO t^-^-^OOOWOX b- 

r^odaot^ojt>^oo55050>re;d-^ 


o 
t^ 


o 
1— 1 


t^ t-^ t^ t-^ si «d x oc id -^ ui •" ^ 


-r 


si 


c»5^o^^o^5'-^ox■^a3CJ(^^Tf< 
o6odo5ocoocc^'-Hcot>^-»co6id 


o 




5 

V 

s 


^^ -H O ic --C --C ro S> X OS lO 0> -f 
oio-^05e^050-1^t^O>«-^:d 






eOi050C^iO(Mt^O:005X^(M 

o6o6o5XC>oC'-HiNcdt-^i.docid 

1-H 1— 1 1— 1 


'd 


si 


Xrocot^«c»3if5Xt^<M^Oro 

O (N CO T-H id ^ O t>^ OJ CO 1-^ t-^ X 

rH .— 1 .-1 T-H 1— 1 tH eS 1— 1 i— ( 1—1 




C 




COOS'— lI-XXCvit^cCM-^iCM 

cdicx"-^o6-^(?4occNi«oioc^J 

1— 1 1-1 T-l 1— 1 1— ( 1— 1 C^ T— 1 T-l 1— 1 CS 1-( 


o 

as 
i-i 


o 


O'^oi^xioioxo5es'«<oio 
-H<Nrd^id-H oh-^oscdt-loooo 

1-1 .-1 ^ T-l rH r-l (M rH T-* i-l 




i 


i-((NOiC503coosxoos'*incc 

i-HCSCSr-IIMrtC^r-HrtrtrHC^i-l 


OS 


>> 

03 


03 


IOCMCOC^COCC-,OOCM— <-<tiCOO> 


OS 


X-^-hOi— iX-HOStCOSO-H-^ 

r-((M(N(MC>qr-<C>li-li-lrHT-IC^l-H 


o 
h5 


lO -^ X CO iC LT lO C^J CO »0 lO >o c^ 

cdoot^ot^oosidr^cqoc<i 

T-^(N(Mi-l(Ni-ie^r-li-(^rt<Mrt 


1—1 

CM 
CM 


si 

be 


■^CMXiCC^OSM-Hr^COOSCt- 
i-l(N<N<MC^rtC^JC>Q-^(N-Hi?qi-l 




a 


coxt«<x^--o--oocococ:iX!M 
O05-Hcdc4ocd— <cdsioc>a-^ 

(Ni-l{NC<l(MCmNe^jHr-(<MINT-i 


CM 


o 


LO-HOOX^O-fCOC^^^^SiC^ 


CM 


X050— lOOS-^Oi-OXO^O 


be 

S 


00-^«OOt^«*COiM^XiOO 


CM 


(N(N(Ne>I<N01©lC^l^CMCS(Ni-i 


March. 


a) 


lOiOCO— iC^OOSt^-XXOCOL-; 
-Hcdcoo-roc^'ojccoi-^c^— «' 

Ca(M<NC<lC^<N(NIMi-irHCSCS|,-H 


d 

CM 


St 

o 

H-5 


-tiCOOCOX005-*iX--0 0-H-l< 

r-^— <ox — xooidodosh-^oo 

1-l(^^c^^1-l(^^l-l(^4!Nl-^^l-(^ 


-r 

00 

CM 

00 
CM 


4 


lCCOe*^e0O5.-^OSlOOS00^Ol 

cdr-lodido-Hcdcst^oeii.dco" 


> 




OS o -H cvi 

-H-He^cofiioccr-xos-H-H-H 

1 1 1 1 r 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 
OS O -- OJ CO "^ lO -.C t- X OS o -^ 

xoo = = ooc;»oo-^-^ 

XOSOS05050S050SOSOSOS010S 


o 
1 

OS 
X 





30 FLOODS OF SACRAMENTO AND SAN JOAQUIN WATERSHEDS. 



5» 






fcq 



&5 


S 


•« 




60 


03 


Sf 


C3 


c 


X2 

3 


g 


>^ 


'^ 




R 




c 


^ 










■»^ 


j^ 


Co 






c3 9 


o 


<o'zl 


f^^j 


t>>o 


CO 


J3 S 




^ T 


r< 




.^ 


ii •■-1 





><fa 


6 


« g 


^ 


1?^ 


M 


<o l_ 


)-l 




m 


< 


^« 


H 


•Sfe 




<u^ 




(^t; 



•25 

o o 



s^ 



s 



oqO 



S 



ffl 



0> O O <N CC >C (35 
iO iC 00 lO lO (N >0 



fO -^ ^ CO o o 
O -^ I^ TT 'l' cvi 



t^O OJ OC 05 CO 



1^ 



-H ;c> o 05-H t^ 
cc id "' 'S" ■^ <>i 



^ CO ao 05io CO 
i-i tt (m' CO -H ^ 



w 



w 



i~ t^ O i^eo «-! 
t-I t-^ CO i^ CO r^ 



.H <>J 



CO 1— I ■'tl 05 Ol 

•^ CO id es i-H 



10 00 t- 00 03 

CO C^ cdrH 



00 O O 1^ lO 

t^ id ^ CO i-i 



CD 00 C» 10 -^ 
CO (N CO tH ,-i 



10 rfi O t^ t^ 

CO (>i CQ 



t- C01> -^ CO 

CO "^ oa >d c*^ 



CO CD t^ 05 ^ 



o CO o 10 00 

CO CM 1-! 



I— O <0 CO lO 

CO id CO .-J ^ 



I^ CO -r 05 O 
CO CM r-l " r-< 



coco 0»0 05 

CO CVJ rH 



00 10 C^) -t* 10 
M c^i CNi ^ ^ 







a 






w 



w 



a 



w 



s 



•o e^ 00 CO CO 
•r id CO "T o4 



O lO 00 00 10 -* 

■^ CNItH 'i-H 



00 «* «« CO 0< 

edeii-i ' r-i 



10 00 c^ 0000 
T»< e^^ <N^ cvj 



C^l C^l -H (N CO 0> 

id CO CO T-^ CO 



CD X CO 10 O i-O 



CO 30 CO 1-- 05 CO 



1^ C5 05 (N 00 lO 

r^ -^ id CM CO CO 



■^ o> lo 1^ o f 
CO CO 'I' -4 'd 1-H 



o t^ o e>i .-H CO 
05 id t^edoo id 



■^ CM C^l 05 o -^ 

oj CO t-^ -^ 30 id 



00 I^ lO -!t< ■* o 
30 id CD CO 1-^ 'd 



O 05 04 0.-I C5 

ocdoo CO oi id 



OS CO 10 CO 05 CO 
CS CO t~^ CO 00 CO 



1—1 CO 10 05 O 00 

o id CO id t-^ CM 



t^ "I" 00 O f r-l 

c<i (^ 06 1^ ff4 id 



05 00 "-H -^ 00 10 

o id 1^ j^ CO CO 



i-H t^ TJ< •<»« ^ O) 

id ^ <o «c5 Ti< r-J 



N O O OCM ^ 
00 1^ OS OJ O CO 



T-* M 



' O '-< iM S 

I - ^yMTs -H ^ -- ^ 

I I I I J^ I I 

^ OS ^ O OS OS O^ 



FLOODS OF SACKAMENTO AND SAN JOAQUIN WATERSHEDS. 31 



o 
o 

33 



> 






c3 



tf 






4) 



o 






a > 

C •:! 
•-"Si 

ox; 

•-^ > 
-^ 



a 



w 





lO lO CO -f o ^ 


w 












'f OlNOsOI- 


o 




i-H T— ( 


t-( i-< 


tH 


s 








si 


t^OO OOO CO 1^ 


t^ 


(N Oi 


-H 00 00 to 


■•£> 


►J 


T— 1 


'"' 




xi 


o: t- 


CO OS !N 00 


05 


tuO 


-H CM 


lo o X 1^ 


_^ 


W 




1— 1 .— I .— I 





1^ t^ --I CC Tf- CM 

*— I O lO O^ o t^ 



X -^ -^ t^ ^ CO 

c5 oi x' 00 CO US 



t^ T»< o -^ e<3 CO 

■^ CO Tji CM OS oi 



® 05 CO 05 CO 
oi 00 05 --C --0 



l« CO O CM t-H 

00 00 x' CO CO 



-^ CM 05 -^ 'O 

CO d Ti<oJ CO 



CO t^ X C^ X 

00 00 00 CO CO 



«rs lO C5 X CO 
00 00 CO iri CO 



O t^ O 'f CM 

oi oi -^ 1^00 



00 CO coco 1-H 

00 00 co«o t^ 



(^CO CMt- t^ 

X 00 CO 1« CD 



OJ CO lO -^ 'O 

X d r^ CD t-^ 



o -^ lo o CO 

OJOOCO CO l^ 



Oi CO CO X CO 
00 XJ CO >.o (^ 



.-H lO t-- ^ lO 

OJOC CO t^ t^ 



i r 1 ^ . 

CO 1^ X a> cb.-H 



iJ. ci 



O^ O^ O^ O O) Od o^ 



d C3 
^ ri- 



ft 

< 



J 



w 



w 



. O O CO oco 
' C" ci 00 oi t^ 



CO CO X O t^ CO 
C33 00 CO CO t^ lO 



CM lo r- 00 -ri »o 
0J 00 CO ui t^ to 



X X .-H CM O X 

oioo t^cd 00 lo 



X CM 03 lO CM 1-H 
C OJ t^ CO si CO 



Si X rH CM .-H X 

oi 00 b^ CO 00 lO 



05 t^ CM 05 CO X 

■-i 05 05 CO d CO 



t^ CO -f (^ X Tf 

(N d d t-^ ^ 00 



X I^ CO O lO 05 
1-H O^ C5 t^ O CO 



O CO t^ Oi ^H T-H 
T)H r-i —H 00 CO d 



CD X CO t^ O lO 

CO i-i ^ d CM d 



i-H O CO X CO X 

CO ^ d X' rH 00 



CM a> CO t^ t^ o 
■^ cm' CM d cm' d 



CO -* 0.-H ■* X 
Tf ,-i -H .-J CM t^ 



CO -^ CM t^ C3> CM 

CO d d d d i^ 



r^ lO o ic o lO 

lO CM cm' ^' CO OS 



CO 05 t^ CM CO 03 

T)! d d r-J d t^ 



o 


t^ CO 03 CO -^ t^ 

CM d d d 00 d 


d 



si 


CO CO 05 'C X 


CO 




CO ^H — , CO 'O Ol 
W ^ r-Ht-H .-- 


CO 
CM 



' O^ CM 

t^ X OJ i-H .-H i-H 

ci t- X oi ct ^ 

O C3 O O-J -H 
05 Oi 05 O-i 05 Oi 



32 FLOODS OF SACRAMENTO AND SAN JOAQUIN WATERSHEDS. 



« 



o 

53 






e 

CO 



•T3 






6 

>-) 

< 

Eh 



a 



•^ 2 






^ o 
u. a> 






J 2 



W 



^ 



W 



w 



s 



a 



w 



:^ 



lo 00 as o 'f o fo 
00 'i* 00 « t^ «o ^d 



0000<N.-H t^ 

o eo t^ »o lO (N 



Oi (N iQ lO eo f 
oi lO ec t^ 'i' CO 



!£> t^ 00 >0 00 <-H 



■<*< 00 1^ oj «o -^ 
00 cooi -^ c4 (N 



00 Oift 'Ot- -^ 



OS OCO h-fO 
CO ci ^ 00 (N 



t^ lO O 'O 1— I 
CM c4 -^CS <N 



005 « OiO 
00 00 >0 00 (M 



o> t^ oi coco 

(N Ci '^ (N <N 



t^OOOO c -^ 

c4<N (N evil-! 



1-1 ON 0<3> 

CO -^ >o -^ c4 



Ol lO IN t-i 00 
(N (N (N«S 



•oe> 00 00 oo 



(N OO 05 00 
CO lO CO (N 



OOOC rHf-l 
CO r-H T-I (N 1-i 



OOS t» O5 00 



-H O o t^ o 
CO !N CJ <N C^i 



; o- 


c 




«v 


«S 

5 



c 2 



3 



— < -^ O Ol CO 
■^ 1/5 UO lO CO 



t^ (M TJ< C> lO OC 

CO e^i e^ .-( c^j ^ 



oo> o 05 o -i< 
eo iM cvi 1-J IN r-i 



a 



lO I- ^ O O CO 
■^ CS CO (N CO p4 



C^ CM 05 LO t^ 03 
O 00 00 CM •* CM 



a 



lO CM 05 .-< 1-H CO 
■»r CM CM CM CO CM 



CM ^ Tfi -^ .-H 00 


CM 


Oi -f lO CO X> CO 


o 



CM Oi « ^ — < O 

OJ -^ t^ •^ O «5 



O "^ «5 •««' to Ol 

i^ •<«< ic CO «d 00 



c> ^ lO lo 05 to 

-^ UO — I lO -i OS 



O O lO o -^ •*< 
O » 00 CO oi t^ 



CO T-H ^ Tt< to 05 

00 i.o to id i^ ic 



a 



r-( t- to Tt< lO CO 

c>i to o 00 -H 03 



o 03C0 t^ as t^ 
^ i<i 00 00 ai -^ 



ift 00 00 o to .-H 

aJ rf! irj t^ t-^ i< 



a 



»0 lO O 'C CM t~ 
CM 1^ -H O CO t^ 



S 



00' 00 O lO o o 

o id t-^ 00 oi -^ 



05 CM 00 i-H i-H 00 

id ■»!< id t--^ id CM 



«o to 03 ©i id to 



I.-H CM 




FLOODS OF SACRAMENTO AND SAN JOAQUIN WATERSHEDS. 33 

Kennett is about 3 miles below the mouth of the Pit River and 323 
miles above the mouth of the Sacramento. The drainage area above 
the station is 8,450 square miles. Besides the drainage of the elevated 
region of the Sacramento, this station also shows the output of the 
Pit. Kennett is really the starting point of all flood waves that affect 
the upper Sacramento River. 

Red Bluff is 265 miles from the mouth of the River and 58 miles 
below Kennett. The drainage area above the station is 11,058 
square miles. The average fall per mile between Kennett and Red 
Bluff is 6.6 feet. When the river at Red Bluff is at or near a 10-foot 
stage a 25-foot stage at Kennett will cause an additional rise at Red 
Bluff of 10 or 11 feet. It has been closely estimated that under 
these conditions the Kennett water will reach Red Bluff in between 
13 and 14 hours. 

Jacinto is 198 miles from the mouth of the river and 67 miles below 
Red Bluff. The drainage area above the station is about 14,000 
square miles. The average fail per mile between Red Bluff and 
Jacinto is about 2.6 feet. The Red Bluff flood w^ave will usually 
reach Jacinto in about 20 hours, and a 10-foot stage at Jacinto 
will generally be augmented by about 6 feet from a 20-foot head at 
Red Bluff, eliminating, of course, the output of Stony Creek, which 
empties into the Sacramento 9 miles above Jacinto. 

Colusa is 156 miles from the mouth of the river and 42 miles below 
Jacinto. The drainage area above the station is 15,943 square miles. 
The average fall per mile between Jacinto and Colusa is slightly over 
a foot. The Jacinto station has recently been established in the 
place of Monroeville, near the mouth of Stony Creek, which has been 
abandoned. The effect of Stony Creek flood discharge on the river at 
Jacinto and Colusa will be discussed in connection with the station 
at St. John on Stony Creek. 

Knights Landing is 99 miles above the mouth of the river and 57 
miles below Colusa. The drainage area above the station is 16,793 
square miles. The average fall per mile between Colusa and Knights 
Landing is about 0.4 foot. The effect of high water at Colusa on 
points down the river depends altogether on the condition of the 
levees and on the amount of water in Colusa, Yolo, and Sutter Basins. 

Sacramento City is at the junction of the Sacramento and American 
Rivers, and is 64 miles from the mouth of the river. It is 35 miles 
below Knights Landing and 20 miles below the mouth of the P^eather 
River at Vernon. The drainage area above the station is 28,433 
square miles. The average fall per mile between Knights Landing 
and Sacramento is about 0.5 of a foot. 

Much of the flood waters of the Feather River escapes either into 
Sutter Basin or through breaks on the west side into Yolo Basin, 

81870°— Bull. 43—13 3 



34 FLOODS OF SACRAMENTO AND SAN JOAQUIN WATERSHEDS. 

but a sufficient amount reaches Sacramento to cause a decided rise 
on the gage at that point. 

Rio Vista is 26 miles from the mouth of the river and 38 miles 
below Sacramento City. The drainage area above the station is 
30,047 square miles. The station is about 3 miles below the mouth 
of Steamboat Slough through which the drainage of the Coast Range 
and the accumulated waters of Yolo Basin are discharged into the 
Sacramento River. 

TRIBUTARIES OF THE SACRAMENTO. 

It would be practically impossible to enumerate all the small water- 
courses that feed the Sacramento River during periods of heavy rain- 
fall, or even the streams that are kept alive during the rainy season, 
and no attempt will be made in this paper to name or describe any 
stream other than those that materially affect the water levels of the 
main river. The main and tributary streams of both valleys are 
shown in figure No. 1, frontispiece. 

The most important tributaries of the Sacramento flow westward 
from the Sierra Nevada, the largest of which, named from north to 
south, are the Pit, Feather, and American Rivers. There are sev- 
eral creeks that run the greater part of the year, chief of which are 
Battle, Antelope, Mill, Deer, ChicO; and Butte. While all of these 
creeks have heavy discharges in times of heavy rainfall it has not 
yet been practicable to establish permanent stations on any of them. 
They are, however, considered in times of floods. 

The Pit River rises in the Warner Mountains at an elevation of 
some 10,000 feet and flows southwestward to its junction with the 
Sacramento about 3 miles north of Kennett. This river is really 
the northeastern extension of the Sacramento and some geographers 
consider the Pit and Sacramento as one stream. The total fall of the 
Pit is about 6,000 feet. From the mouth of Falls River, at Falls 
City, to where it joins the Sacramento, a distance of about 87 miles, 
the Pit is deeply intrenched in rocky canyons. The principal trib- 
utaries of the Pit are the McCloud and Falls Rivers, although Mont- 
gomery, Hatchet, Hat, Squaw, and Burney Creeks add greatly to its 
discharge during periods of heavy rainfall. In times of heavy flow 
the most of the creeks named practically leap into the Pit as roaring 
cataracts. There is no Weather Bureau gauging station on the Pit 
River, but, as has been stated, the combined output of the Pit and 
the upper Sacramento River is measured on the Kennett gauge where 
a rise of from 15 to 20 feet often occurs in 24 houi^s. 

The precipitation of the Pit River drainage becomes somewhat less 
as the northeastern end of its watershed is ap])roached, especially in 
the level portions of Modoc County. It increases in the higher levels 



FLOODS OF SACRAMENTO AND SAN JOAQUIN WATERSHEDS. 35 

of the Warner Mountains, and varies from 20 to 30 inches annually. 
Some snow falls along the western slopes of the Warner Mountains 
and occasionally in the plains adjacent to Alturas. Within a radius 
of 20 to 40 miles adjacent to Kennett, in the lower Pit and upper 
Sacramento watersheds, the annual precipitation sometimes exceeds 
100 inches. In 1909 the rainfall at Kennett for the three months 
ending with March was 86.42 inches, of which 54.08 inches fell in 
January and 24.30 in February. The annual precipitation at Kennett 
for 1909 was 115.92 inches. 

The Feather River drains an extensive area south of the Honey 
Lake drainage basin and empties into the Sacramento at Vernon, 20 
miles above Sacramento City. The drainage area above its mouth 
is something over 7,000 square miles. Its principal tributaries are 
the Yuba, which joins it near Marysville, and th€ Bear, which empties 
into it 17 miles below Marysville and 1 mile above Nicolaus. The 
output of the Feather River will probably exceed that of any of the 
tributaries of the Sacramento and is one of the principal streams to 
be reckoned with in times of flood. It rises on Mount Lassen at an 
elevation of nearly 10,000 feet and flows southward, being joined in 
the high Sierra by numerous forks, the chief of which are the North, 
Middle^ and South Forks. The Feather- Yuba drainage includes the 
western slopes of the Sierra Nevada lying between the Pit and Amer- 
ican Basins. The mean annual precipitation in the Feather- Yuba 
drainage area varies from 20 inches in the valley to 60 or 70 inches in 
the higher regions; occasionally as much as 100 inches falls. In the 
higher regions it is mostly in the form of snow, which often remains 
on the ground until June and sometimes July. On the summit of 
Mount Lassen the snow rarely ever disappears. From Oroville to 
its mouth the Feather flows practically parallel with the Sacramento, 
and during all floods of which there is a record it has overflowed its 
west bank at a point near Hamilton Bend and discharged its surplus 
water into a basin lying north of Marysville Buttes, thence into the 
Sacramento through Butte Slough. This water in 1909 was the 
deciding factor in the breaking of the levees at Moons Bend on the 
Sacramento River below Colusa and the flooding of Colusa Basin. 

Upon the completion of an enormous dam by the Great Western 
Power Co. in the lower portion of Big Meadows Valley, that part of 
the North Fork of the Feather which drains this valley will be changed 
into a large reservoir that will occupy an area of about 40 square 
miles. The dam, which will impound about 1,250,000 acre-feet of 
water, will be 110 feet above the ordinary water level of the valley. 
As the North Fork of the Feather, besides bearing the drainage of 
Mount Lassen, is the most extensive watershed of any of the branches 
of this river, it will be seen that this huge reservoir will exercise a 
modif}'ing effect on future flood conditions in the main stream. A 



36 FLOODS OF SACRAMENTO AND SAN JOAQUIN WATERSHEDS. 

regular river and rainfall station is maintained at Oroville on the 
Feather, 32 miles above its confluence with the Yuba and 50 miles 
from the mouth of the river. The drainage area above the station 
is 3,100 square miles. The fall between Oroville and the mouth of 
the Feather is about 2.6 feet per mile. Another regular river and 
rainfall station has recently been established on the Feather at 
Nicolaus, 16 miles below the mouth of the Yuba, 1 mile below the 
mouth of the Bear, and 10 miles above the mouth of the Feather. 

The Yuba Kiver rises at an elevation of about 8,000 feet and flows 
south westward to its junction with the Feather near Maiysville. It 
is fed by three forks, the North, Mddle, and South, which drain the 
snow fields of the high mountains. A regular river and rainfall sta- 
tion has been maintained for many years at Marysville, which is 26 
miles above the mouth of the river. The drainage area above Marys- 
ville is 3,540 square miles. In times of flood or heavy rainfall special 
telegi'aphic reports are received from Downieville, on the North 
Fork of the Yuba, about 95 miles above Marysville. 

The Bear River drains a small area, not over 300 square miles, 
between the Yuba and American watersheds. It rises at an elevation 
of about 5,500 feet and flows southwestward to its junction with the 
Feather. This stream rises rapidly under the influence of heavy 
rains or melting snows in the higher regions of its watershed. With 
the cessation of rain the river quickly subsides and reaches its normal 
stage in a few hours' time. A special river station has been estab- 
lished on the Bear near Colfax, from which telegraphic reports are 
received in times of heavy rainfall. 

The American River drains that part of the western slopes of the 
Sierra Nevada lying between the Bear and Yuba on the north and the 
Cosumnes and Mokelumne on the south. It flows southwestward 
and joins the Sacramento at the city of Sacramento. The drainage 
area above its mouth is about 2,000 square miles and its total fall is 
about 9,000 feet. Like the Feather and Yuba Rivers, the American 
branches out into numerous forks, all of which tap the snow fields 
of the high mountain ranges. In the higher part of its basin are 
numerous small lakes. There are two stations on this stream: One 
at Folsom, 25 miles aboA^e Sacramento, from which reports of river 
and rainfall are received the year round, and another on the Middle 
Fork, near East Auburn, from which reports are telegi-aphed in 
times of high water or heavy rainfall. It has been estimated that 
when a stage of 10 feet is reached on the Middle Fork gauge, assuming 
that all other forks are proportionally high, the main river at Folsom 
will be augmented by 10 or 1 1 feet when the gauge at the last-named 
})()int is at or near a lO-foot stage. The advance flood wave, starting 
at Folsom with a 20-f()ot head, will reach Sacramento city in about 
six hours. With a 25-foot head at Folsom the swell will be felt at 



FLOODS OF SACEAMENTO AND SAN JOAQUIN WATERSHEDS. 37 

Sacramento in about five hours. The rate of progress of this stream 
becomes rapidly less as the water subsides, and at extreme low water 
the river becomes very sluggish, especially in the vicinity of Sacra- 
mento. Between Fair Oaks and Folsom the river is mostly confined 
within high banks. The American rarely retains a full head of water 
longer than a few hours after the cessation of rain, and for this reason 
its flood waves usually pass into the Sacramento before the output 
of the Feather- Yuba reaches its mouth. However, with a protracted 
spell of heavy rainfall that is coextensive with the watersheds of the 
American, Feather, and Yuba Rivers, the American remains at flood 
stage until the approach of the Feather River output, or such a part 
thereof as does not escape into the basins on each side of the Sacra- 
mento above the mouth of the American. The mean annual pre- 
cipitation of the American watershed varies from 20 inches in the 
vicinity of Sacramento to 25 or 30 inches in the foothills. In the 
higher regions it amounts to 60 or 70 inches, and much of it is in the 
form of snow. Melting snows in the higher regions affect the Amer- 
ican during the first warm days of spring, but this of itself rarely 
raises the river more than a few feet, and this usually flattens out 
before reaching Sacramento. The most potent factor in producing 
floods in the American is the combined influence of heavy lainfall 
and melting snows in its upper watershed. 

Of the western tributaries of the Sacramento or those that flow 
from the Coast Range, the most important are Stony, Cache, Putah, 
and Cottonwood Creeks. In addition to these are Clear and Thomas 
Creeks, streams of small discharges and restricted watersheds. 

Cottonwood Creek empties into the Sacramento near the town of 
Cottonwood. Its numerous small forks rise in the Coast Range at 
elevations ranging from 4,000 to over 6,000 feet. Although the main 
stream is east of the Coast Range proper, the total area drained by 
this creek is something over 900 square miles. The mean annual 
precipitation ranges from 20 to 25 inches in that part contiguous to 
the Sacramento River to 50 inches or more in the higher regions, where 
much of it is in the form of snow. This stream has a heavy discharge 
during periods of excessive rainfall, but it has not yet been practi- 
cable to establish a Weather Bureau river gauge in its watershed. 

Stony Creek rises west of the Sacramento River at an elevation of 
about 5,000 feet and flows northward between the Coast Range 
proper and the foothills until it breaks through the hills and turns 
eastward through the plains toward the Sacramento, into which it 
discharges at a point near Monroeville. Stony Creek is the last 
southerly watercourse that discharges directly into the Sacramento 
River. The mean annual precipitation in the watershed of Stony 
Creek varies from 25 inches in the valley to about 40 inches in its 



38 FLOODS OF SACRAMENTO AND SAN JOAQUIN WATERSHEDS. 

most elevated feeders. Some snow falls in the higher regions, but 
this form of precipitation is rarely a factor in the flood situation. 

The Weather Bureau maintains a regular river and rainfall station 
at St. John, about 3 miles above the point where the creek joins the 
Sacramento River, and a special rainfall station is in operation at 
Stonyford, about 45 miles above St. John, from which heavv rainfall 
is reported by telegraph. During the summer months the creek in 
the vicinity of St. John is practically dry, but during the whiter 
months, especially during periods of heavy ramfall it rises rapidly, 
sometimes carrying away bridges, as was the case during the floods 
of 1907 and 1909. Stages over 6 feet in the lower reaches of the 
creek exercise a marked influence on the run-off of the Sacramento 
between its junction with the Sacramento and Colusa. Records show 
that stages between 9 and 12 feet on the St. John gauge \vi\\ raise the 
river in the vicinity of Colusa from 5 to 7 feet when the Colusa 
gauge is at or near a 15-foot stage. The distance from the mouth of 
Stony to Colusa is about 50 miles and the first effect of the Stony 
flood wave is felt in between 14 and 16 hours, according to the inten- 
sity of the wave. The average fall per mile between the mouth of 
the creek and Colusa is about 2.3 feet. The creek falls rapidly after 
the cessation of rain and rarely maintains a stage as high as 8 feet for 
more than a few hours. At 12 feet the creek overflows its banks in 
the vicinity of St. John. 

The United States Reclamation Service has recently completed a 
large reservoir in the vicinity of Orland, where a sufficient amount of 
water has been impounded from Stony Creek to irrigate some 14,000 
acres. 

Cache Creek drams that part of the eastern slope of the Coast 
Range lying between Stony and Put ah Creeks. It rises in Clear 
Lake and flows southward through Yolo Basin and reaches the Sacra- 
mento River through Cache and Steamboat Sloughs a short distance 
above Rio Vista. Clear Lake lias a drainage basin of about 450 
square miles. 

Putah Creek drainage basin lies between Cache Creek and Napa 
Valley. It rises in the St. Helena Range and flows southward 
through Yolo Basin, thence through Cache and Steamboat Sloughs 
into the Sacramento River. 

The mean annual precipitation in the Cache and Putah Creek 
Basins varies from about 20 inches hi Yolo Basin to 50 or GO inches in 
the higher regions. Some snow falls in the upper forks of Putah and 
in the feeders of Clear Lake, although there is no appreciable increase 
in the run-off of either stream from this form of precipitation. 

Botii (^aclie and Putah Crocks luivo a heavy discluirge during 
periods of heavy rainfall, and their flood waters intensify conditions 
from Rio Vista to CoUinsville and throujrhout the island districts in 



FLOODS OF SACRAMENTO AND SAN JOAQUIN WATERSHEDS. 89 

the lower Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers. All water that 
reaches Yolo Basin, whether from the hills or from the overflow of 
Colusa Basin, or through weirs and other openings along the west 
side of the Sacramento River, is borne back into the Sacramento 
River through the outlets that carry the combined discharge of 
Cache and Putali Creeks. During the floods of 1907 and 1909 the 
discharge of the accumulated water of Yolo Basin into the Sacra- 
mento River was sufficient to reverse the current of this stream for 
several miles above the mouth of Steamboat Slough, especially dur- 
ing flood tide. 

No Weather Bureau gauges have been established on Cache or 
Putah Creeks, but arrangements are being made whereb}" gauge 
readings may be secured from several points in Yolo Basin during 
flood periods. 

The San Joaquin Drainage Basin. 

The San Joaquin Valley is bounded on the east by the Sierra 
Nevada, on the south by the Tehachapi Cross Range, on the west by 
the Coast Range; on the south it merges into the Sacramento Valley 
in the region of the Mokelumne and Cosumnes Rivers. 

The San Joaquin River, the trunk stream of the southern end of the 
Great Valley, and of the San Joaquin Valley, rises in the elevated 
regions of the Southern Sierras at a point south of the Yosemite 
National Park and flows southward to the floor of the valley, thence 
northwestward to Suisun Bay. Its total length is quoted as 350 
miles. The river has been popularly divided into two sections, the 
upper and lower. The logical point between the divisions is a few 
miles above Mendota, where the river bends abruptly from a south- 
westerly to a northwesterly course. 

Precipitation in the valley itself, or along the course of the river, 
ranges from something over 16 mches annually in the vicinity of 
Stockton to less tlian 5 inches in the region of Bakersfield. It 
increases rapidly as the Sierra Nevada are approached. The main 
water supply, however, of this stream is drawn from melting snows 
from the high mountain peaks of the Southern Sierra, many of which 
are almost always covered with snow. Por this reason the mean 
maximum flow generally occurs in May and June, sometimes in July. 

Three river and rainfall stations, having uninterrupted records of 
six years, are maintained on the San Joaquin River proper. Named 
from south to north they are Friant, Firebaugh, and San Joaquin 
Bridge 

Tables of highest, lowest, and mean stages for each month and the 
mean for each year follow. 

The tabular values are also presented graphically in figures 16 to 22b, 
inclusive. 



40 FLOODS OF SACRAMENTO AND SAN JOAQUIN WATERSHEDS. 

Mean monthly river stages, San Joarjuin system. 



FT 

10 
8 
6 
4 
2 

-2 


4-" 

a 

CO 


o 
O 


> 

O 

z 


d 

a 


c 

-3 


(1) 
Li. 




a 
< 


CO 

IE 


c 


3 


hb 

3 

< 










n REBAUGH. 




















































-_ 






i 


















B-r» 


i-»^ 




V^ 






1 






^ 






E^ 














^ 




$ 






1 




1 












i 






1 












p^ 


^ 




\ 






1 




^ 






^ 






^ 






^ 




U7i 




\LU 






















.11 



Fig. 1G.— Mean nionlhly river stages. 



FT. 

16 

14 

12 

10 

8 

6 

4 

2 





a 

CO 



o 
O 



> 

o 

z 



o 
O 



c 

"3 



LL 






1. 

a 

< 



>• 
cs 



c 

3 
-3 



3 



3 
< 



LATHROP. 



i 



I 



^ 



i 



1 



i 



I 



I 



I 



i 



1 



1 



i 



I 



1 



I 



I 



I 



2 



I 



I 



I 



1 



1 



m- 



1 



1 



Fig. 16a.— Mean monthly river stages. 



FT. 
16 
14 
12 
10 
8 
6 

4 
2 



SEP 


OCT 


^OM. 


DEC. 


JAN. 


FES. 


MAf?. 


APR. 


MAY. 


JUhi. 


JUL. 


AUG. 




































y 
/ 


' 




"*^. 

#* 




\ 

V 












/ 
/ 


/ 








\ 


— N — 

. \ 


^ 










/ 
/ 
/ 




• 




> 


n 


• 
« 

1 

• 


-\ 

\ 
\ 








/ 


/ 


• 






/ 


• 
• 
• 
• 
• 


— r 








/ 
/ 


• 
* 
» 








/ 




1 • 
1 t 
1 » 

1 • 
1 • 










f 

/ 


/ 






/ 


r 




1 


• 


""•^x 


»* 












/ 








* 


r •■ ' 


<ii 




" 


^ 


' 












^ 


























A 



•Fm. 17 Mmn monthly river stajtes, Lathrop. Cal. Broken line, season 1906-7, unusually 
hiKh; suli.i In..., I'll 1 \2, unusually low; dotted line, mean stages for a 12-yeiu- period. 



FLOODS OF SACRAMENTO AND SAN JOAQUIN WATERSHEDS. 41 

Highest, lowest, and mean seasonal stages, San Joaquin system. 

(In feet.) 



/899-O0 I900-0I 



/9O3-O'\f9O¥-O^9OS-O(,\906-O'A/907-O8\f908-09 \ /909-/0\l'!'0-tl \l9//-/Z 



L AT H R P. 



7Z, 



1 



^ 



^ 



Z2 



i 



^ 



i 



I 



I 



^ 






1 



i 



ii 



i 



i 



i 



i 



M~m-W 



^ 



=1 



% zzz 



^ 



i. 



Wi-m 



I^mI^m 



iii 



i 



iii 



i^iio 



^ 



z 



^0 



oiio 



^ 



Fig. is.— Highest, lowest, and mean stages. 



1906-07 J907'08 J908-09 /909-/0 



10 
8 




-2 

-4 



^ 



i 



M 



^ 



S 



MERCED. 



= i 



^ 



^ 



i 



^ 



i 



/9/0-// 



i 



~i 



^z 



^ 



/f//-/^ 



% 



>^ 



_jj 



Fig. 19.— Highest, lowest, and mean stages. 




Fig. 20.— Highest, lowest, and mean stages. 



42 FLOODS OF SACRAMENTO AND SAN JOAQUIN WATERSHEDS. 



Highest, lowest, and menn seasonal stages, San Joaquin system — Continued. 

(In fo:t.) 




Fig. 20a.— Highest, lowest, and mean stages. 



14 

12 
10 
8 
6 
4 

2 



-2 


/9<y6'07 


/907-08 /9OS-09 /909'/0 \9/0- // 


/9//-/2 








.... . . 




JEN 


NY LINO. 












777 
























^ 












V/ 












% 












i 












^ 












/a 












^ 
























^ 












y/y 
vy 












'//. 












y/y 












i 












^ 






^ 






^ 






i 






i 














M 


M 


1 





M 


^ 





'7? 


^ 


o 


27 


^ 




77 


^ 







































LZ: 




A\ 



Fig. 2Ub.— Highest, lowest, and mean stages. 



FLOODS OF SACRAMENTO AND SAN JOAQUIN WATERSHEDS. 43 

Highest, lowest, and mean seasonal stages, San Joaquin sz/siem- Continued. 

(In feet.) 



12 

10 

8 

G 

4 

2 

C 


/906-07 


1907-08 


1908- C(9 /9O9-/0 


/9/0-// 


/9//-/2 


^ 












ELI 


ECTRA 














i^ 




































% 












V? 












V? 












% 












# 






^77 






^ 












^ 












^ 






i^ 






i 












^ 






77, 












i 






i 






V/. 






^ 




M 






ZZ 


^ 




^ 


^ 




^ 


^ 


_^^ 




TU 










zz 






ZZ 






zz 






JLiL! 










2 


A 



Fig. 21.— Highest, lowest, and mean stages. 



/906'0:^907- 08)^908-0^/909-/0 \/9/0-// \/9//'/2 



12 
10 
8 



I 



I 




-2 



i 



i 



i 



i 



i 



Mi 



F REBAUGH 



^ 



^ 



i 



i 



i 



I 



zi 



^ 



I 



i 



i 




11 



^ 



i 



i 



I 



:? 



i 



i 



^ 



i 



i 



i 



11 



^ 



2:^ 



S 



.4 



Fig. 22. — Highest, lowest, and mean stages. 



12 
10 

8 

6 
4 
2 


-2 


/^^^-^7 


/907-O8 


/908-09 /909-/O 


/9/0-// 


/9//-'2 














FRIANT 






































i 






























r<^'^ 






i 












^ 












^ 






% 






^ 












i 












i 






i 






i^ 






TZ' 












V/ 






^ 






f 






1^ 






% 






^ 


77" 


M 


^ 




M 


% 




M 


% 




>;/,' 


^ 




% 


% 




M 










ii^-^ 






^ 






^ 






^ 






y/ 




/I 



Fig. 22b.— Highest, lowest, and mean stages. 



44 FLOODS OP SACRAMENTO AND SAN JOAQUIN WATERSHEDS. 



5>5 



<£ 





'^ 




^ 


. 


?s 




c 


s 


« 






w 


-< 




eS 


^ 


s 




> 


>H 


o 




w 


m 


^ 






tf 


5^ 




^ 


M 


e 






!> 


<w 




C3 


M 






^ 


< 






o 


O 


K 




r/l 


Hi 


C 




o; 










•^ 


g 




a 


< 

xn 






CO 

c 




^ 




rt 












^ 




^ 




S 


t- 


D 




o 


(R 


o 






t^ 


e 




oo 


J= 


w 

-^ 








6 

o 




tl^ 


<2 


1/) 






0. 


Oi 




1 


F5 






I— 1 


£ 


ti 








ro 




o 






;^ 


^ 


<!■) 




H 


■^ 


> 






"fS 


c? 



Sec 









fLi 



s 



w 



O) .-I r^ r^ rt -J o 



-rf O 05 «c o o o 



I I 



»0 Ol CO o o o o 
oi ' •o ^ -^ ' -d 



CO rH OS QO O O 05 



1 «e o o 00 eo w CO 
s 

^ : III 



O C. U5 O O 



;^ 



w 



bo 



rH O Cl <M O <M 



eo o o CO i> CO 
o ■ 'i-i ■ T-J 



5S o o o o o 



r-< CO o c '^ 



1111 



(Meotoo ;s CO 

Mill I 



Ocot-O o 

I I I 



CO o o lo t^ 



I I I I 



eo rt O --C CO 



I I I I I 



COO 0<M 

7 T I 



?■> o c o c) o 

7 i T 



O (N O CO lO CO 



,cbJ, 



q 2 



s 

bC 

3 

< 



p. 



l:^ 



w 



oco 

CO ^ 



w 



w 



ffl 



s 



w 



lO rt lO c^ -^ cs 


■^ 


CO ^ Tp ^ CO 


I- 



005 o.-( ooos 
00 i-^ t-^ ■* r^ ^ 



-a< t^ lO ■<*' (N 00 

«C >-< ^ CO ^ 1-H 



,-H t^ lo ■>«< o lo 

•^ ' CO CS CO 



^ *l t^ O C<1 » 
l> e<9 lO -^ — "^ 



O Tjt IC O ,-1 CO 
■<3< .-I «N (N CO 



00 CO o r^-^ oi 
c4 ' 1-1 ■ c^ 



05 O O CO X 00 
ijQ CO '^ '^ ^ 



CO 05 <M CO X 1-1 ;c 



CO rt r^ (N ,-1 



CO CO Oi kC o » --c 



lOiO h-OX05 



„ ' C ^ CM 
l>-0pO3-H — ^ ^ 

03 2R S 5^ 55 5 S 



FLOODS OF SACRAMENTO AND SAN JOAQUIN WATERSHEDS. 45 



w 



c3iS 

« P. 

a; 



ss 

11 

® s 

o.ga 



t* 



<3 £ 



uo ^' C: M t-^ 



w 



o oi "^ >o ic r- 
Tj5 r-< TjJ (N ci 



t--. o .-H o «c ic 



a 



w 



s 



w 



w 



1^ 



a 



e<3 t^ IN ■* »o •* 



Tf •^ lo ooo c<? 

I I 



(M Oi(MO O5 00 

□6 <N o »H 00 



CM a> IN lo -"f 



IN M CO O CO 

o ^ c4 ^" 



CO •^(N 00 CO 

I 



^ Tt^ "^ Oi t^ 



(N>OOJO -* 

Oi-i 1-i ^ 

I I I 



ooco '*oo o 

T-H r-^ CO ' r-i 
I I 



■^rH 00500 ■* 



«o ■* e>i o -^ ■* 
I I I I I 



O lO 00 00 o o 

d * ■ 't-h ,-; 
I I 



■* CO OiOO t^ rti 



I I 



-tl •* r-H ©l CO -* 



I I I I 



^ -H lOOO o 

r-< ^ ■ (N r-H C^ 

I I 



' 0.-I IN C^ 

t- 00 05 -^ ^ rt ^ 

ci r^ 00 i o i-H ■ o 

o o O Oi-< -H o 

O^ C^ O O^ C^ O^ Oi 





, 




CO 00 00 in a> 


t^ 














a 


c3 




.-H CO (N ■^ 


(N 


<! 


§ 










d 


'Th »« !N ^ Tt< (N 


t^ 




<j3 


CO ^ IN 






s 


1 1 1 




O 


meoowo-^ 


CO 


O i-H »^ -H 


^ 


3 


1^ 


III 1 


1 


<J 








X^ 


O 00 T-H O (N (N 


CO 




.Sf 


O IN .-1 lO 


CO 




w 


1 1 






d 


CO 'ti O (N CO >0 


o 




e3 

,2 


o 00 o 


lO 








"a 


^ 






o 


(N t^ N ,-1 CO .-1 


^ 


t- (N-H to 


-H 


Hti 


H^; 


1 1 i 


1 


^ 


OOiOCO^Ob- 


CO 




M 


^ -H T-H (N (N r-( 


(N 




W 


1— 1 .— 1 T-H 


'"^ 




d 


in^t^oooiOi 


o 




c3 

i2 


^ <» T^ -^ —nn 


00 








OJ 


^ 






o 

h1 


ifl CO (M O (N t~- 


CO 


tl 


0^03^05 rH 


^ 


^ 


KO CO lO i^ eo «o 


o 




tUO 


CM-* wooeoos 


CO 




H 


ft r^ y-t 






d 


030»o^ '+0 


o 




C3 
1 


O CO OS C-- 00 (N 


t- 




00 ^ r-< CO 03 t- 


t~ 


ajr^oooto 




^ 


h^l 


1 


1 


^ 


lO >0 CO -^ --< t- 


»o 




a> 


.-Hiftooooco 


^ 




w 


r-H T— 1 T— 1 


'"' 




d 


T-H (N t^ l>- t^ -^ 


(N 


d 




0<N»C>Ot>. 

1 


lO 


o 


^ CO^OO t>-l> 


t- 


S. 


00 co(Nin 




<1 


H^l 


1 


1 


^ 


Tt4 (M ^ T)< CO OC 


■*! 




W) 


T-i lo 00 00 03 


^ 




w 


^ 


^ 




^ 


-H LO 0<i t^ CO ir: 


CO 




s 


00!N '^CO t- 


•* 




s 


1 




^' 


r-OiN-* T*^t- 


t^ 








lS 


o 


■* ^ CO IN CO 




)^ 


K^ 


1 


1 


^ 


lO C» ■* Ol O If; 


lO 




bo 


-H CO lO -^ ^ 


^ 




W 


T— 1 1-H 


'"' 
























3 




















D 




















H 








c 




(N 


(N 








r^oo CT> ^ T-H .- 








^fe§^^:i 


ci 












C3 03 Oi 03 03 o 


Oi 








T-H 


I-H 


T— H 






1-H 


1 



46 FLOODS OF SACRAMENTO AND SAN JOAQUIN WATERSHEDS. 



I 



c3) 






»< 2 






B 
ao 
O 



09 



CO 



n 
< 



w 



ce o 
© e 
>>» 

Xi2 
o — 

a ^ 
« C 

u O 

ss 
« J- 

Si > 
■u — 

S^ 
ea c 
o — 

a! 

^;| 

2c 
o o 



w 



s 



ifi >d "t t^ '^ t-^ t-^ 1* >o — oi '6 -^ 01 






•^o--f-t< — oooi^^c^-fusc^ 



oi'-HC^co.-lTr^s.-.'ioocoOi-H 






w 



-f td CO 10 ^' -^ -^ lo t^ 06 lo lo e^ 






w 



to 



w 



ifl O -^ O (M (N Ol^ 00 •^ •^ 



C^OOOOOO^lOeCh-'fM 

CO -^ ' C4 * I-H T-H * O ' r-i 



OiOi— iCO»00000(MOrO:0 

OiOMco ' o^ -* ^ -I* ec >-< 



oeoooor^.-i'^Ocof-^ro 
»CC<5^(NC0 '-^c^i ' c6 ' ^ 



O00iMO^-OO'^OOO(N 



O05iooor~-'^a5iot^0iooio 



OOUtXMOMOOOOOCOOfOCO 
CO rt ' '06 * t-J T-^ ' rt ' ^' 



^ ■ * ■ -^ ■ ■ ^' ■ • ■ ■ 
I I 



id CO * * CO ' <N (N 1-H .-< ' 1-4 



■^i-HOC^OaOCOO-^-^t^cO 

T-t <N * * ' ' CO e4 ■ 1-H ■ r-J 



i-t->*-HN©JO00OO-*OO 

•H ^ * * ' * I-H (N ' ' " rt 



•OC0O»NC^«CO5OO0CU0 



*S ••'•o-<oi o> 

-H -H (N CO -J ic o r^ op o» ^ -H ,-1 T-* 

* » Q 5 i 5 P ^ Q P 5— ' -- § 

00C5C^CiO>C5C5O5O>O5C5O^G5 -x* 






be 



•3 









:^ 



w 



a 



bo 

3 



a 



a 



0000 • C5 ■>1< 06 t>^ 05 CO 



t^ (M -,0 O -.£ 05 •*• — t~ C O C 00 



eo-*ooicoc«ooo»oocoo 

tH CO ' ' -4 ' -^ -r ' — ' ' C^' 



OM050500i^cc;eoooo-,c 
c4 — J-^^lO(^^lO-r-4•^c^^o — 



•^•>*<oo■*^»c^o^^X(^^c^^»-■»^• 
uo-^«cdo65sr^uoe^icoc^:se^i 



0"005— >-JCo;?-ic^oo«NO 



o -^ CO c>i CO e^ i> -^ T»< o •^ r-^ 10 



0^ ic 0^ :C CO c^ CO 


— 


0: a: coc 


CO 


CO -J -i" -1" -^ ■»»< i~ 


— 


t- — — 1~ 


<M 




t^ CO (N 05 --o r^ 


- 


CO CO -^ 01 


-H 10 CO CO CO c^ -.r 


«0 •^ «0 ■^ "C 


1(5 



WC000^"!»<C^00Oe005 00(NUS 



C0i-i05-HOOt>.00Oc0C000t- 

co;dco"o;dco;cioo^»c"ot- 



(M>coo»o>ooor^'»i<eocoot^iM 
oj-^^coc^ci^uor-io'^'^oj 



e>j.ct~-050^iocoo»c^sooo 
10 t-^ in JO 06 tfi t^ -^ CNi t- «b (^ c4 



b£ 

a 



O— <0000C0-^00OO(NOt^'* 

O5c4-^co'ro>o«o6c6'^iric^ 






t^oOT»<o»OX'*ic;£t^ir?t^co 



CO ■* 00 CO CO — 1 
06 -^ 35 06 CO c5 



— '-^Noooo 
1.0 oi ^ ui o id 



O lOiMooTfr^ 
o ;dcocoo •^ 



C M j^) -^ ac ^ 
:d t~^ i?j — ^ i/i — ' 



o 0000 ;£o 

CO IC O! 06 OJ 



NOi t^OiCO 00 

05 00 ^ ^ Oi c^ 



»-« -^ N CO ■«*< ic 



O — M « 






FLOODS OF SACRAMENTO AND SAN JOAQUIN WATERSHEDS. 47 



w 



® 2 

Si M 

^2 






r 


a> 




> 






i^ 


Pi 


«i 




u 


T3 




<1) 


■o 


u 


C 


<i> 


!» 


s 


a, 
> 




* 


c 


flS 






en 


•o 


■'^ 










^ 


"S 


g 


(IH 


"ro 


•a 


eS 


0) 



coS 







O^ •* I^ 00 


^ 


•^ 











lO l^fO 


rH 





«e 


1 




^ 


^ "r^ 'r-; ■ 


^ 


c 


a 




d ■ 'rH* ' 






« 






■< 


S 








h 


s 
















C3 
03 


t- -* CO « t^ CO 


rH 










e3 


o 


00 CO t-O M 

*rt" 'rH 


CO 




d 

1 1 




jo 


^A 






















^ 


•* ^ lO C4 


•^ 








VI 






r^OOOSO^ -t< 


05 
















Cud 

3 





Od ^ 


(N 




CV) -^^ Tt< 


Tft 


1 1 


1 




IM iCiCOOfO 


(N 














C3 


»0 »0 00 1-1 •* 







I— 1 1—1 


rH 






l^ 10 -^ 05 lO 













>> 


o 
h5 


10 -^ 05 t^ C^ 























o3 

e3 


— 1 

1 1 


1 




S 









CO «oo CO 











t-9 




xi 


■^ ^" t^ »r» oi 


Oi 




1 




K 












1 


fi 


00 r- 00 10 t- 























CO OS 00 CO CV 















■ ■ ■ ■ 

1 1 








iM rt CO 


CO 




C3 


r^ r~ CO r^ 


^ 












^ 


c 

h5 




00 ^o« 















1 1 


1 




d rH C^ir-H CO^ 


(M 


Q 














cc t^ooo-*oo 


iC 


















1^ 00 00 CO 


00 





-; 'rt' '(N 




^' 


00 M 05 00 o«-i 



















c 




(N 10 c: 










<u 




1 1 


1 




W 


CO rH CO i-( ■<*i eo 


■* 




0) 


t^ CO »o >o CC 


^ 












o 




c<: 


c 








> 




OCMr-l-H 

1 1 1 


(N 

1 




<N rH C^l (M OJ rH 


<M 


O 














^ 10 Oa 


OS 












s: 




(M CO S^ ■* 




>> 


^ 










r-4 


'-' 


03 


3 


C^l rH CVJ rH C<1 




^' 


IC C3> rH Ttl 10 00 


Ui 
















c 

c3 


























COrHCOWCOC^ 


CO 


u 


0) 

1^ 




1 1 1 


1 




w 








d 

03 


■* <N C ^ 0- 


t^ 














^ 














Xi 










(N r-i ^ C<j IN 


J—^ 


o 

O 


o 

►-1 




IM C^ 1-H 
1 1 1 


1 




t^ :£ CO t^ ci: 


CC 


•a 
s 




OOCOOOCO 


00 


:=3 











<1 




1-3 








05 •* 00 00 10 


OS 
















C3 




:^1 00 00 CO 


't 












c3 




-^ 








<MCl!N<NlMrH 


<M 


Ol 

s 

i ai 
1 M 

i 


s 




1 1 1 


1 




l-M 








d 
SI 


10 00 CO 10 X 


10 


5: 




oec -^ 














ca I— 1 T— 1 c<i 









1 1 1 


1 


Xi 


^ 






5^ 


0; iO 05 00 •* CO 


CO 


. 











.be 




d ■ * ' 




C3 


d ■ ' 'th' 






HH 
















si 


rH rj. ^ jyj Lt^ 

























. 




















tc 


«b r-J rH* (N Ui rH 


^ 






















s 








bJ 






































3 






































1; 




































K 


H 








c 




(N 


(M 


K 


H 








c; 




(N 


(N 
















1^00 o- 










.1 1 1 1 1 1 


^ 






^sii^i 


<i 




















C> 0^ Oj 0^ 0^ ;7 








OS OS OS OS OS 0^ 


rl 



48 FLOODS OF SACRAMENTO AND SAN JOAQUIN WATERSHEDS. 



^ 



5- 



r< 



■^ 


cs 




o 


-« 




se 


C3 


o 






O 




o 




a 


§ 


as 


!~ 


<£ 


^ 


t-- 


CO 








CJi 


>*> 


cs 


c 


60 


o 






s 


^ 


r^ 


> 




s 


'TS 




s: 


x: 


c 





"^ Xi 






»B 



^ a 






c o 

— 3 
O- 

^« 

.22 o 

T3 — t 

a > 
.- d 
w o 






s 



CO ^ O r-< t^ O '* • 

T»< «vi lO M Tji ■ CO 



a 



o o o •"f 00 -^ 
CO cs CO c^' es 



CC 00 Tf O O 00 
O CO 05 -1* c^ 



rf Tf t^ CM -r -O 
C^i (N lO TfJ -1< 






«eoo ic o CM CO 



-.r; c^i o o o 00 

00 CO r- 00 r~- r-i 



S 



a 



a 



a 



^ 



a 



1^ l^ 05 O CM 

rH 'cOr-< 



•* to OCM CM 



■^ »C O CM CO 

CO rt' ej CO 



00 -^ 1-1 ^ CO 
O ' CO ' ' 



lO CO O O CM 



'f o o CO o 
^ ,-i c:j^ T-; 



05 »0 lO CO CM 



OjHWCM r-H 



I I 



OOCOOOCM 



05 CO 00 ■* »0 CO 



O CM ^CM CM r- 



.-H ■<*< O rf -^t" 

CM ■ ■ 00 --H 

I 




c 2 

^ CI 



s 



a 



;^ 



a 



s 



a 



a 



1^ 



a 



O t>- Tf ic o 
CM CO CO -.ji CM 



CO OS loeo CO >o CO 



CM »r ee ,-1 ^ .-• 



CM OO COOOO 
•CCMCM '-^ 



lO »^ -^ Tf -,C "ti 
t--^ CM -^ r-J t^ CM 



OTf^ OCM o 
lO 1-H CM '-^ ^ 



CM CM o -.c o o 
O CO 00 CM O CO 



to 00 CM f- 00 o> 

00 TjS 05 ■^ O ;D 



«0 CM Oi 00 50 to 

lo CO cc cm' t>^ CO 



O -^ Oi to oo 

CM to r-H 00 CO ^ 



t^ 00 00 "5 0> t^ 
t^ "5 t^ t-^ t^ to 



CM CM rt lO CM -^ 

to ■^ to lO to Tl5 



CM «D O IQ -^ X 

OI> OJOO C oi 



lO .-H 05 CM CM CM 
to iri lO t^ t--^ CO 



to oc to to -^ ■<*< 
•^ c^i CO lo irj CM 



CM«o too to Tt< 
00 1- 1>^ oi 00 »o 



00 t^O ■* X o 
to CO ■^ "i to" CM 



X X ■* CM O -^ 
CM CM CO •<* ■^ 



O O to CM o to 
^ id U5 06 CM CO 




FLOODS OF SACKAMENTO AND SAN JOAQUIN WATERSHEDS. 49 



o 



>i 



to 
o 






-^ 


j3 


d 




c 


^ 


H^^ 


• 


•►2 


03 r: 


- 


00 


OJ M 


« 




-s? 


o - 


cft 


*- e 


s 




















ZD 


>^H 




o 


O 


«s 


^ 


J3 ^ 




« rJ 


M 


2S 


>J 


n 


T3 w 


<! 


C 3 


H 


-" rt 






2c 
go 



*3 



I CO t^ •* -^ -* 
' * CO c^ cc 



■* 05 »o CC CO lO 

eo ' oj ^" 1 ' 



I I 



w 



OOOOOt- 
«5 ' l-^ CO 00 



t- T-H 00 -^ -^ o 
^ ' CO ci es 



HI 



O 05 "OCOO c^ 



<N l^ O O O C^ 

»c o so ?d ^ i-H 



bo 

i5 



w 



w 



■<1< C<1 00 C<l rH 

I I 



CO ■* 'O J^ CO 

o ^' * ■ * 

II II 



>-i e^ ■* lO o 

1— J OS 



•— I o »o "O 'o 

I I I 



I 7TT 



CO o» t^ O t^ 

c; r-i cvi Ti5 



I I I 



M T}< lO C5 Oi 



MM 



O t^ C<l O S5 

O ^' CO -^ 

I I I 



N 00 ?0 iH Oi 
C ^' CO ^ 



I II I 



CO CC OS (N O O 

C5 1-il-H CO ' 

Ml I 



O OS lO 05 rH Oi 

II II I 



(N (M 35 -^ O O 

C; — ' — ' CO m' r-H 



81870°— Bull. 43—13- 






be 

3 

<! 



ft 



t-~ Oi t^ C<t ^-1 
C5(N '(N 



C<l 00 00 00 (M CO o 



i-H CO--! 

Ml I 



iH W CO O O OS 

o _; ^' ■^' rt* 

7 I I I 



W) 



O ■* O Ot^T-H 
<N ' i-! CO i-H 

I I 



•^ * (N cm' CO 



w 



OOOOOCi 

«N ■ l-H C4 T-H 



00 N ic CO oo 

CO (N ■*' ' CO 1-J 



c>i -r -f CO I- i~ 

CO M CO c4 00 CO 



w 



(N 0(N(N lO O 
iO N ■* * lO rt' 



O 00 lO N 05 eo 
t-^ CNJ oi '« o t«^ 



.— I Oi OO -H O <M 

ic c4 CO >o t^ 't' 



.£3 
bp 



"O CO "O Ol O IC 
■*' cm' T)5 Tt* lO rH 



ffq O — I ic O >0 

CO "^ O CO O CO 



O C; CO 1-1 Tt< CO 

-^ (m' >o -^ CO " 



C<1 O O O lO 00 
CO f-H CO ^ "^ 



coos OOOOiO 
io 'li 05 1>^ Oi c4 



IS 



O fN Oi-H O t^ 

CO — < CO to >o 



M t^co »cooo 

CO * Ci CO 1-? 

I 



w 



e>i CO o o o CO 
oi c^' ■*■ 00 00 »-H 



o o o o^ ^ 

O Ci Oi Cl C5 Ob 



60 FLOODS OF SACRAMENTO AND SAN JOAQUIN WATERSHEDS. 



O 



CO 

g 



CO 



O 
< 

Eh 



o 
c 



^1 

o 
(>. w 

ci S 
c o 

0) 

la 

a> £ 
o > 

c « 



a; 



si 

2-59 

■©73 

■° C 

03 c 



S 



5 



s 



a 



s 



a 



a 



t - = --C C3 o >- --r- 



00 t^ 00 t^ •-< o o 



OO O'H OiO o 
»C CO ;C 1-H lO ' cs 



i^ e^ t^ lo t^ CO 00 



OC l^ CS lO O N O 






t- cc -^f O — I o 



>r <M t o o o 



I '-* i^ -rr Oi t- 

i-^"SM * ■ IN 



cs o — ' o cq 
c5 * ■ * 



(M (N !M -^ (M 

o ■ ' * 



(N CO O O CS 
O IN * ' !N 



OO CO <N IM 



Or-lO-< ^ 



I I 



c> ■ • ■ 

I I 



OOOiM O 



_^ • C -- N o> 

1^ 00 Ol •-< --H ^ l-H 

o ^ ^ c^ ^ O) o^ 



< 5 



:^ 



<1 



a 



a 



a 



s 



30 CO t- O '-'^ 



O O O -«■ I^ <M 

c 

I I I 



o o o ^ 00 X 
o 

.11 I 



d 



I I 



O O C (M -O CN 



O O O r^ 00 y. 



O dCM CM -J ' 



oi c^ CM — ' o ^2 

c 

I 



C re Ol CO CO CM 



>— I Tf Tf CO IC CM 



C: CO CM CM CO c; 



•>:»< lO 1^ lO l^ CO 



OC I- O I- — < CM 



rf iC t— lO 1- — 



»C 05 X O 'O OC' 
C4 ' T-J — ; CM 



C O 1^ CM lO LO 
•^ —'—<•-<" CM 



— X cc >o o o 

CM ' — ^* " — 



OOCMCM lOOO 

CO cm' CM ■<r d iH 



05 •« -^ — < 1— 1 

I- at O d — » 

I ?i C5 S r; as en 



FLOODS OF SACRAMENTO AND SAN JOAQUIN WATERSHEDS. 51 



w 



c 2 

a-— 

o ^ 

OP 



B3 
xp 






CO u 

Sdo 

03 Cj 



02 



cr- :o ro lO iM fC 

Ci ■ (N t-H (N 



lO O O CM lO c>a C<l 



oc C5 00 o o -f< 
•r * CO (m" i6 



0> t^ CO »0 05 -^ 

rt" ■ (N ^* ,-5 



w 



IC -f ^^ (M O (M i-H 



C "OOO OCO CJi 

-t< rH 00 ^ oi 



w 



w 



M " <N "* 1-H 

d ' (n' d 



O tH 



t^ -^ O O CO 

T-4 * lo t-i 



I 1— I CO ■— ' CM 
> rH 

I 



< eo O — I ' 



1— I -:)< O lO "O 

d 'i> ■ " 



I I 



o-j o "-H o CO 



I CM WCVJ r-( 
'ill 



l(N O^ CM 



'X) I- (^ di c. >-- o 

O O^ O^ O^ O) O^ c^ 



Art 



D 
3 






a. 



t^ lO ■^ I~ O CM 
d .-! rH r-! * rH 



1,,-) ,--|,-H CI O T-H 

d 

I I I 



•H C\J CM e*J i-H O CM 

c> 

Ill I 



lo lo i-< th to o in 



J^ 



w 



or r- o C5 CM t- 
fo *co *co 



Tt< CO O t- CO i-H 

CO rH CO "-H ■*■ cm' 



-* 1-- O OS O 00 

CM *co *fd 






o -r CO 1— I T-( 00 

•*' cm' ■*' CO IC CO 



K 



OC -f OCO lO I- 

CO c^i •*' CO ■*' CO 



I Oi loocM c:5 



CO 00 IC 00 CO CO 

CO ci CO CO -^ I-* 



o 0-* cot-co 

'^^ r-I cm' C^' CM 



CM t~ CO ■* •* CM 

c^J ' i-H 1-5 T-5 



w 



C> CM CO O »0 CO 
e»S "-i CM -:j5 'li 1-H 



O — < CM 05 

t - C/0 CT, — ' .-H -H i-H 

CC t^ 00 Oi O "-f CC 

SOOO-^r-t O 

Oi Oi Oi Oi Ci o^ 



CO 'C 05 CO ^ CM T-l 

cm' ' * ' cm' * T-! 



CO lo t-H oi-o o 



i-H OC CO CM CO lO 
CO 1-1 CO CO CO CM 


cm' 


rr CM CM 00 lO "O 
cm' i-H CO cm' cm' T-H 


<M 

T-5 



CO i-H cm' CO CO 


cm' 


CO C5i CM C) -f CO 

c-i ' cm' cm' cm' 


CO 



52 FLOODS OF SACRAMENTO AND SAN JOAQUIN WATERSHEDS. 

Friant is about 203 miles above the mouth of the river with a 
drainage area above the station of 1,730 square miles. 

Fu'ebaugh is 43 miles below Friant with a drainage area above the 
station of 11,382 square miles. San Joaquin is 111 miles below 
Firebaugh and 49 miles above the mouth of the river. The drainage 
area above the station is 20,887 square miles. 

The average fall per mile between Friant and San Joaquin Bridge 
is about 2 feet; from San Joaquin Bridge to the mouth of the river 
the fall is only a fraction of a foot per mile. 

Tributaries of Tulare and Buena Vista Lakes. 

There are several streams that enter the San Joaquin A'alley 
from the Sierras south of the upper end of the San Joaquin River 
that are lost in Tulare and Buena Vista Lakes and the adjacent 
'^Tules." They are the Kern, Kaweah, Tule, and Kings Rivers. 

The Kern has its source at elevations ranging between 11,000 and 
13,000 feet, with a drainage basin quoted as 2,500 square miles. It 
flows southwestward from the mountains and empties into Buena 
Vista Lake. During exceptionally high stages in this lake it has 
been known to escape thence through various sloughs northward 
into Tulare Lake. While the Kern has a heavy discharge when in 
flood, and has been known to cause disastrous inundations, much 
of its normal flow is now diverted in the vicinity of Bakersfield for 
irrigation purposes. 

The mean annual precipitation in the Kern River Basin varies 
from less than 5 inches in the valley to as much as 50 or 60 inches 
in the higher regions. Above the 5,000-foot level it is mostly all 
in the form of snow. 

Tule River Basin, north of that of the Kern, starts in the high 
mountain ranges of the Sierra Nevada at an elevation quoted as 
9,000 feet and flows westward toward Tulare liake, which it sometimes 
reaches, but the most of its normal flow is now diverted for irrigation 
purposes in the vicinity of Porterville. Its watershed is small, 
the total drainage being quoted as 350 square miles. 

The Kaweah River flows southwestward from the Great Western Di- 
vide and at high stages reaches Tulare Lake. Its greatest elevation is 
about 12,000 feet, and its drainage basin is about twice that of the 
Tule. Below the foothills the most of its flow is used for irrigation. 
Both the Tule and Kaweah are subject to overflow and occasionally 
some damage is caused from floods in the vicinity of Porterville on 
the Tule and Visalia on the Kaweah. The mean annual precipitation 
in the Kaweah and Tule Basins varies from 8 or 10 inches in the 
valley to 30 or 40 inches in the higlu^r regions. Heavy snow falls 
in the most elevated regions of both watersheds. 



FLOODS OF SACEAMEXTO AXD SAN JOAQUIN WATERSHEDS. 53 

The Weather Bureau has recently estabHshed several stations on 
the Kaweah River, the most important being at Carters ranch, 
near Thi*ee Rivers. 

Kings River drains the western slopes of the Sierras between the 
Kaweah drainage and that of the upper end of the San Joaquin. It 
rises at an elevation of nearly 14,000 feet and flows south west ward 
to a point just north of Tulare Lake, where it separates, one part 
flo\\'ing southward into the lake and the other northward through 
Kings River Slough into the San Joaquin. This stream, however, 
has rarely augmented, to any great extent, floods in the upper San 
Joaquin for the reason that at high stages its greatest discharge 
follows its southern course to the lake. Its main stream is tapped 
just below the foothills and a large part of its normal flow is diverted 
for irrigation purposes. The mean annual precipitation in the 
Kino:s River Basin rano^es from as much as 60 inches or more in the 
higher regions to as little as 8 inches in its lower reaches. 

All streams lying south of the upper end of the San Joaquin River 
which have been ponded back by Tulare and Buena Vista Lakes 
will, no doubt, be used more and more for uTigation pmposes as the 
cultivated area increases, which ^\ill ultimately result in the reclaim- 
ing of the entire Tulare Lake Basin. 

O^^Hng to the fluctuations of the water level of the Tulare Lake 
considerable interest has, during the past few years, been centered 
around this section. Although milHons of dollars have been lost in 
farming ventures by the inundation of lands m the vicinity of the 
lake thought to have become permanently arable, farmers still look 
forward to the time when the entire basin, or the ''Valley of the 
Tules," as it is sometimes called, will be added to the agiicultural 
assets of the State. 

No better description of Tulare Lake itself, and the conditions 
that have prevailed in that section during the past 10 or 15 years, 
can be found than that published by the L^nited States Geological 
Survey in Water-Supply Paper Xo. 251, which is as follows: 

Tulare Lake is a shallow body of water occupying the lowest depression in the 
Tulare Basin . The lake is rectangular in shape and its greatest length is from northwest 
to southeast. In November, 1907, when the margin was carefully determined, the 
lake had an area of 274 square miles, a maximum depth of 12.4 feet, and average 
length of 20 miles, and a width of 13.5 miles; the water's edge was 3 miles from the 
town of Corcoran, and the water surface about 12 feet below. The lake reached its 
greatest height in the summer of 1907, when it had a maximum depth of nearly 14 feet. 

For the 25 years preceeding 1898 the lake level was steadily lowered, with only 
seasonal fluctuations. This lowering was brought about by the development of 
iiTigation in the Tulare Basin, the water used for this pm-pose being diverted from 
the streams supplying the lake; but undoubtedly the chief factor in producing the 
subsidence was light precipitation. During this entire period the precipitation was 
generally below the normal, particularly dirring the several years immediately pre- 
ceding 1898, and in that year the lake became practically dry, and after having 
partially refilled in 1901, it became completely dry in 1905. As the water receded 



54 FLOODS OF SACRAMENTO AND SAN JOAQUIN WATERSHEDS. 

a constantly increasing area of exceedingly fertile land was uncovered. From time 
to time this land was leveed on the lake side and cultivated, until, in the early spring 
of 1906, the entire bed was under cultivation. 

On March 15, 1906, the first water reached the lake bed at the mouth of Kings 
River and began spreading over a large area of bottom land, upon which stood a crop 
of wheat almost matured. A few days later water from the Kaweah and Tule Rivers 
reached the lake. Then began a steady rise which rapidly submerged an increasingly 
large area of wheat fields. On June 1, the water was 7 feet deep, and covered 200 
square miles. On June 23, overflow from the Kern Basin cut through the sand ridge 
from the south and flowed into the lake, which, for a few days afterwards rose at the 
rate of 0.2 foot per day. On August 4 the water reached its greatest height for the 
year 1906, and the lake had an area of about 300 square miles and a maximum depth 
of 12.7 feet. The total rise of the lake in 1906 was 10.8 feet. From this date the 
lake slowly subsided until December, after wliich a rise began which continued 
until July, 1907, when the lake attained a maximum depth of 14 feet. Since tliat 
date it has been gradually subsiding. 

The lake bed resembles a large flat saucer, the flat, level area in the bottom has an 
elevation approximately 180 feet above mean sea level and covers about 55 square miles. 
The lowest point on the crest of the delta ridge to the north is about 27 feet higher 
than the bottom of the lake. Natural overflow will not occur, therefore, until the 
lake has a maximum depth of nearly 30 feet and an area of nearly 1 ,000 square miles. 

The lake receives practically all of its water from Kings, Kaweah, and Tule Rivers. 
The Kings River furnishes the largest quantity. During flood periods about half of 
the total flow below all diversions enters the lake. Under normal conditions all the 
water of the Tule River and nearly all of that of the Kaweah River is diverted for 
UTigation, and only a small quantity of water from these streams reaches the lake. 
The water from Kern River is stored in Kern Basin, except in years of great run-off. 
It is said that previous to 1906 no water had reached the lake from Kern River for 
25 years. It thus appears that in years of great run-off, like 1906-7, there will always 
be a flow into the lake. Owing to variations in the overflow, therefore, and in evapo- 
ration, which amounts to about 4.5 feet a year, it is probable that the lake will continue 
to fluctuate very much as in the past, though possibly never reaching very high stages. 

Tributaries of the San Joaquin River. 

All of the tributaries of the San Joaquin Rivc^r rise in the high 
regions of the Southern Sierra and flow westward. Those winch 
materially affect the flood situation in the floor of the valley take a 
course nearly parallel with the upper end of the trunk stream and 
join it at right angles at points below its elbow north of Afendota. 
Named in their order from south to north, they are the ^ferced, 
Tuolumne, Stanislaus, Calaveras, and Mokehunne Rivers. The 
Fresno and Cowchilla Rivers, while tributary to the San Joaquin, 
are of no importance so far as the flood situation of the San Joaquin 
Valley is concerned. The Fresno, however, has a fairly extensive 
watershed and, under the influence of heavy local rains, has been 
known to overflow a considerable area directly contiguous to its 
course; but its rise is practically coincident witli the cause, making 
flood forecasts impracticable. 

The Merced River drains an extensive section directly north of the 
upper end of the %San Joaquin and joins the lower section of that 
stream at a point a few miles east of Newnnin. The (h*ainage basin 



FLOODS OF SACRAMENTO AND SAN JOAQUIN WATERSHEDS. 55 



The 
The 



(In inches.) 



of the Merced above the valley is quoted at 1,200 square miles, 
most elevated region of its watershed is about 13,000 feet. 
Yosemite Valley is wholly 
within the drainage basin 
of the Merced River. 

A regular river and rain- 
fall station is maintained 
on the jMerced at Merced 
Falls, 35 miles from the 
mouth of the river. The 
drahiage basin above the 
station is about 1,000 
square miles. The mean 
annual precipitation in 
this basin ranges from 10 
to 1 5 inches m the valley 
to 20 or 25 inches in the 
foothills. In the higher 
regions it amounts to 60 
inches or more, much of 
which is snow, which 
melts during the latter 
part of May or the first 
decade of June, often re- 
sulting in freshets in the 
lower reaches of the river. 
While the greatest flow of 
the Merced is in May or 
June, sometunes in July, 
should warm weather be 
delayed, this only takes 
place in years of normal 
or hep.vy snowfall in the 
mountains. Heavy, warm 
rains occasionally occur 
during the winter months, 
and in March, in which 
case floods result in some 
of the sections contigu- 
ous to the mouth of the 
river. 

The Tuolumne River 
flows southwestward 
from the high mountains nearly })arallel with the Merced whose 
watershed bounds it on the south. It drains about 1,500 square 




Fig. 15. Normal annual precipitation at 11 stations in the San 
Joaquin watershed. See page 5G. 



56 FLOODS OF SACRAMENTO AND SAN JOAQUIN WATERSHEDS. 

miles above Woods Creek, one of its most imi)ortant tributaries. 
The highest point drained is about 13,000 feet on the North Slope of 
Mount Lyell. The mean annual })re(*ipitation in this watershed varies 
from about 10 inches in the valley to as much as 60 inches in the 
higher regions. It decreases rapidly as the floor of the valley is 
approached. Above the 5,000-foot level it is mostly all in the form 
of snow, which melts rapidly in the late spring and early summer 
and contributes to the usual June freshets in the lower San Joaquin 
Valley. Heavy rains are not uncommon during the ^vuiter months, 
or in March, in which case the river, which has a heavy fall, quickly 
responds and its flood wave hurries to the San Joaquin, which it 
joins a short distance west of the town of Modesto. 
The stations and altitudes (see fig. 15) are as follows: 

Eleva- I Eleva- 



tion 
(feet). 

1. Stockton 23 

2. Los Banos 121 

3. Fresno 293 

4. Bakersfield 394 

5. Mokelumne Hill 1,550 

6. Milo 1,600 



tion 
(feet). 

7. Sonora 1, 825 

8. Summerdale 2,270 

9. West Point 2, 326 

10. Kemville 2,600 

11. Crockers 4, 947 



The United States Weather Bureau maintains a regular river and 
rainfall station at Jacksonville, just below the mouth of Woods 
Creek, which enables it to make accurate flood forecasts for Modesto 
and the regions adjacent to the mouth of the river, where a large 
area is protected by levees. The average fall of the Tuolumne from 
Hetchy-Hetchy to La Grange, IS miles below Jacksonville, is 51 
feet per mile. Jacksonville is 64 miles from the mouth of the river, 
and it has been estimated that a flood wave of 25 feet at this station 
will reach the San Joaquin in 11 to 13 hours, thus giving ample 
time for an intelligent river forecast for all sections subject to over- 
flow. The greatest and most rapid rise on record for the Tuolumne 
occurred at Jacksonville between the 29tli and 30th of eTanuary, 1911, 
when the river rose from 4.6 to 26 feet in 24 hours. The last-named 
stage was augmented by another foot rise by 7 a. m., January 31, 
when the river attained a stage of 27 feet, the higliest on record. 

The Stanislaus Kiver drains a narrow basin between the Tuolunuu* 
and Mokelumne watersheds. The greatest altitude drained is 
quoted as 11,000 feet. The mean annual precipitation in the water- 
shed of the Stanislaus ranges from 12 to 15 inclies in the valley to 
as much as 50 inches or more in the mountains, where it is mostly 
as snow. This stream usuidly carries an increased volume of water 
during the late spring and early sununer, as a result of melting snow, 
but heavy rains in the foothill sections are not uncommon during 



FLOODS OF SACRAMENTO AND SAN JOAQUIN WATERSHEDS. 57 

the winter months causing floods in its lower reaches. The Stanislaus 
empties into the San Joaquin about 5 miles below the town of 
Tuolumne. The Weather Bureau maintains a river and rainfall 
station on this stream at Melones, 64 miles from the mouth of the 
river. The drainage basin above the station is about 562 square miles. 
Owing to the great fall of this stream from its source to its mouth, 
which is quoted as 70 feet to the mile, high stages in its upper parts 
usually reach the San Joaquin in about 10 hours, and its flood waves 
pass down the main stream several hours in advance of those of the 
Tuolumne and Merced. 

The Calaveras River drainage is between that of the Stanislaus and 
the Mokelumne basins. This stream has the most restricted water- 
shed of any in the San Joaquin Valley north of Kings River, and 
probably the smallest annual runoff per square mile of any river 
tributary to the Great Valley, except the Tule, north of Tulare Lake. 
The highest point drained is between 4,000 and 5,000 feet. The river 
flows southwestward from the foothills to the little town of Bellota, 
where it is deflected into a narrow channel known as '^Mormon 
Slough," which empties into Stockton Channel. 

The mean annual precipitation in the Calaveras watershed varies 
from about 16 inches in the vicinity of Stockton to 35 or 40 inches 
in the higher regions. Some snow falls on the summit of its basin 
but not in sufficient quantities to materially affect its flow. In fact, 
this stream is rarely kept alive much later than the 1st of July, 
after which it is usually dry until the first rains of winter. During 
the winter months heavy rains sometimes occur and occasionally 
result in damaging floods in the regions contiguous to Stockton, 
BeUota, and Linden. Stockton itself, or the greater part thereof, 
has been rendered practically immune from the ordinary floods of 
the Calaveras by the construction of a canal which diverts the flood 
waters of Mormon Slough into the lower Calaveras River, proper, a 
short distance below Stockton, whence they are carried to the San 
Joaquin. The flooding of Stockton and the adjacent section in 1909, 
before the completion of the diverting canal, and the great flood of 
1911, when thousands of acres east of Stockton were under water, 
resulted exclusively from the overflow of the Calaveras. (See fig. 
15, ^'Annual precipitation in San Joaquin Watershed.") 

Two river and rainfall stations are in operation on the Calaveras, 
one at Bellota on Mormon Slough, 17 miles east of Stockton, and one 
at Jenny Lind, 13 miles above the point where the river flows into 
the Slough; and a rainfaU station is maintained at San Andreas, 
26 miles above Jenny Lind. Although the average fall of the 
Calaveras is nearly 15 feet per mile, and the faU between BeUota and 
Stockton is about 5 feet per mile, the advance of flood waves has 
heretofore been greatly retarded by spreading in the vicinity of 



58 FLOODS OF SACKAMENTO AND SAN JOAQUIN WATERSHEDS. 

Bellota and Linden. With prompt service from river and rainfall 
stations it is possible to make timely forecasts for the greater part 
of the area subject to overflow. In fact the Bureau has not yet 
failed to do this at any time since the establishment of tlie river 
service. 

Heavy rains in the San Joaquin Valley are usually coextensive 
with the watersheds of the Upper San Joaquin, Merced, Tuolumne, 
Stanislaus, and Calaveras Rivers, and result in the passage of four 
well-defined flood waves down the San Joaquin River, south of 
Lathrop. The crest of that of the Upper San Joaquin, and the 
discharge of the North branch of Kings River, usually reach the 
flat country in the vicinity of Mendota and Firebaugh about the 
time that those of the Merced, Tuolumne, and Stanislaus reach the 
lower San Joaquin. Should heavy rains continue, even for a few 
hours after the above-named streams have attained flood stages, 
the capacity of the trunk stream becomes overtaxed, and all points 
subject to overflow between the mouth of tlie Tuolumne and that 
of the Calaveras are liable to inundation. 

The Mokelumne River flows southwestw^ard from the Sierras and 
empties into the San Joaquin at a point about 25 miles northwest 
of Stockton. The greatest elevation drained by this stream is 
about 10,000 feet. In addition to numerous lakes and small creeks that 
feed the Mokelumne it has an important tributary in the Cosumnes, 
which joins it near Thornton, about 6 miles from Walnut Grove on 
the Sacramento. At flood stage the Cosumnes has a greater dis- 
charge than the Mokelumne itself above the point where the two 
rivers meet. The Cosumnes has the greatest fall of any river in the 
Great Valley, and is quoted as something over 80 feet per mUe. 
The mean annual precipitation in the Mokelumne-Cosumnes water- 
shed varies from something less than 20 inches in the valley to as 
much as 60 inches in the high mountain ranges in Alpine and El 
Dorado Counties. 

The Weather Bureau maintains two river and rainfall stations on 
the Mokelumne; one at Electra, 70 miles from its mouth and 55 
miles from its junction with the Cosumnes, and one at Bensons I'erry, 
a short distance below the point where the two rivers meet. The 
drainage area above Electra is 537 square miles; that above Bensons 
Ferry is about 1,200 square miles. 

Floods rarely, if ever, occur in the ^lokelumne as a direct result of 
melting snow, but heavy, warm rains during the winter months are 
liable to cause floods over an extensive area of low country below the 
mouth of the (\)sumnes. During all previous floods of which there 
is an authentic record, aiid especially those of 1904, 1907, and 1909, 
a large area of country in the ncnghborhoods of Bensons Ferry and 
Lodi has been flooded. Duriui!; [\w 1904 flood numy of the levees 



FLOODS OF SACRAMENTO AND SAN JOAQUIN WATERSHEDS. 59 

of the lower Mokelumne were swept away by the waters of the Sac- 
ramento, which escaped through what is known as the ''Edwards 
break" and swept southward along the lowlands lying east of and 
parallel with the Sacramento River. The Edwards break occurred 
on the 27th of February, 1904, and three or four days later between 
40,000 and 50,000 acres were under water between the Sacramento 
and the ^Mokelumne Rivers, with an estimated loss of over $1,000,000 
in Sacramento and San Joaquin Counties. The loss, however, was 
greater in the last named county along the South Fork of the 
Mokelumne. 

In the 1907 flood the Mokelumne overflowed its banks above Lodi 
and Woodbridge, inundating many thousands of acres of land. In 
1907 the floods of the Mokelumne were greatly augmented by the 
waters of the flooded Sacramento, which escaped eastward through 
a break in the levees near Courtland. It was the added water of the 
Sacramento River which resulted in the flooding of the Pierson 
District in 1909. 

During the 1909 floods, while the Mokelumne was high, there was 
only one small break in its levees, which resulted in the inundation 
of perhaps a thousand acres. 

The highest water on record, however, in the Mokelumne occurred 
in 1911, but all levees which had been strengthened held and there 
was little damage. 

For much of the information regarding the Mokelumne floods the 
writer is indebted to Mr. Edward H. Barber, of Thornton, Cal. 

Floods in the Sacramento River. 

River readings were made at various points in the Sacramento 
River during the early days, but, until the river service was estab- 
lished by the Weather Bureau, the readings were in most cases 
indifferently made, and even the best of records were made without 
regard to any particular datum. The height of flood waters in 
former days have, however, at some points on the river, been fairly 
well established by landmarks, which furnish a basis of comparison 
with stages that have been recorded since the establishment of the 
service by the Government. Of course, conditions in the old days 
were vastly different from those that prevail at the present time. 
Before the settlement of the valley the river during high water roamed 
at will after it had emerged from its rocky canyons. Protected from 
the lowlands on either side only by its low banks, which sloped back 
into the floor of the valley, the river spread over large areas at stages 
that in these days would be called only moderate. It is believed that 
many of the ''floods" that are associated with the early history of 
the Sacramento Valley would now pass unnoticed to the bay between 
levees. 



60 FLOODS OF SACRAMENTO AND SAN JOAQUIN WATERSHEDS. 

There is, however, ample proof of the fact that there have been some 
high stages in the Sacramento River in the old days that would prob- 
ably have been difficult to control even with the levee systems that 
now protect many of the agricultural districts and some of the smaller 
towns of the valley. 

Regarding the various floods of the Sacramento and American 
Rivers in the city of Sacramento and its vicinity, history begins with 
that of 1850-51. Tradition, however, recounts an inundation in 
1805, when it is said the entire Sacramento Valley was covered 
with water, except Marysville Buttes. This tradition was handed 
down by the Indians and at the time of the first white settlers in this 
section stories of the ^'great waters" were still extant. 

The History of Sacramento County, by Thompson and West, pub- 
lished in 1880, contains some interesting accounts of the floods in the 
vicinity of Sacramento from 1850 to 1878. According to this history 
the flood of 1850 is the first of which there is an authentic record, and 
it refers to this flood as follows: 

From January 9 to 17, 1850, the entire city of Sacramento was flooded. 

In this connection it tells of heavy damage and some loss of life. 
Of course, the city at that time occupied only a small area, and while 
the damage was, no doubt, relatively heavy, the probability is that 
there was little to lose. That this flood was of some intensity is 
proven by the amount of rain that fell during December, 1849, and 
January, 1850. It was the flood of 1850 that first suggested the 
necessity of building levees around the city, and the introduction of 
this method of protection dates from that year. 

The following is taken from the history of Sacramento County: 

On March 7, 1852, another flood occurred at Sacramento, which leveled the most of 
the levees that had been built for the protection of the city. 

During this flood, which must have come from the American River, 
historians of this section record the destruction of many bridges on 
this stream, especially those which spanned the South and Middle 
Forks. 

On January 1, 1853, the city of Sacramento was again flooded, 
the water, according to history, rising to 22 feet above low-water 
mark. Little damage resulted from this flood, which seems to have 
subsided quickly, offering evidence of the fact that it came in from 
the American River. 

From 1(S54 to 1860, inclusive, tliere are no records of floods in any 
part of the Sacramento watei'shed, and the record of preci})itation 
during this period shows no heavy rainfall. 

The history previously referred to states that on March 2S, 1861, 
another flood of brief duration occurred on the American River, 
during which the river was 20 feet above low-water mark. On 



FLOODS OF SACRAMENTO AXD SAX JOAQUIN WATERSHEDS. 61 



December 9, 1861, the American is reported to have risen to 22.7 
feet above the low-water mark, resulting in considerable loss. 

The greatest and most disastrous flood of which there is any 
remembrance, and one that seems to have been general throughout 
the* Great A^alley, north of Kings River, occurred between January 
9 and 12, 1862. The highest water at Sacramento during this flood 
has been quoted as 24 feet above low water. It has been stated 
that the American rose 60 feet above low-water mark, but the point 




Fig. 44.— High water near Folsom in 1862. 

where the measurement was made is not stated. The probabihty 
is that the American has been greatly overestimated and the Sacra- 
mento has been quoted too low. 

According to measurements made in October, 1912, from the 
attested high-water mark of the 1862 flood made on an old stone 
stable, near where the Stockton and Coover mill stood on the left 
bank of the American River a mile and a half above Folsom, the 
American River at Folsom during that flood would have registered 
38.3 feet on the present gage, or 11.5 feet above the 1907 flood. 



62 FLOODS OF SACEAMENTO AND SAN JOAQUIN WATERSHEDS. 

Judging from all accounts of the 1862 flood it must have been the 
combined output of the American, Feather, and Yuba Rivers. 

The rainfall of December, 1861, and January, 1862, in the vicinity 
of Sacramento aggregated 23.68 inches, 15. 04 inches of which 
fell in the last-named month. As a result of this unusually heavy 
rainfall, which was undoubtedly coextensive with the entire Sacra- 
mento as well as the San Joaquin watershed, the American River 
from Folsom to Sacramento City was kept at flood stage until the 
approach of the Feather- Yuba and upper Sacramento discharge, a. 
condition that had probably never before occurred in this section 
during its occupation by white settlers. All settlements in both 
valle3's suffered greatly during the great flood of 1862, especially the 
city of Sacramento, the levee system of which was entirel}^ leveled. 

There were three floods in the upper reaches of the Sacramento 
during the winter of 1861-62. According to Capt. Lee, of Tehama, 
Cal., who has been connected with the river in various capacities 
for the past 60 years, and who is still enjo}dng life at the age of 86 
years, the first flood occurred on December 9, 1861, when the river 
was higher than it had been for many 3^ears at all points between 
Tehama and Red Bluff. According to Capt. Lee, the water was 
over a foot deep in the streets of Tehama and many thousands of 
dollars worth of stock was drowned in the vicinity of that town. 
The second flood occurred on the 29th of December, 1861, following 
several days of unusually heavy rainfall. Cottonwood Creek was 
higher than was ever before known; Ludwigs Bridge, that spanned 
this stream, was carried away. This flood overtop])ed the banks in 
the vicinity of Red Bluff and completely inundated Tehama and 
other settlements along the Sacramento River. The tliird flood 
occurred on eJanuary 23, 1862, the water reaching the 29-foot mark 
on the Red Bluff river gage and flooding the warehouse on the east 
side of the river. 

The historians of the Sacramento Valley agree that there were no 
floods of any importance from January, 1862, to February, 1878, 
notwithstanding the fact that some heavy rains fell during this 
interval, notably, November and December, 1864, Jaiuuirv, 1866: 
December, 1867; January', 1868; December, 1871 ; and January, 1875. 

From February 1 to 20, 1878, there were several floods in the 
Sacramento and American Rivers in the vicinity of Sacramento. 
On the first-named date the river rose higher than was ever before 
recorded, 26 feet above low-water mark. Some damage resulted 
from this flood, caused by the breaking of the levees near Lovdal's 
ranch, between the city of Sacramento and Sutterville. 

The city of Sacramento has remained secure since 1878, notwith- 
standing the fact that the high stages ])reviously recorded have 
been exceeded a number of times, notably, as follows: February 4, 



FLOODS OF SACRAMENTO AND SAN JOAQUIN WATERSHEDS. 63 

1881, 26.6 feet; December 12, 1889, 27 feet; March 4, 1891, 27.6 
feet; May 30, 1892, 27.2 feet; December 27, 1892, 28.6 feet; March 
22, 1893, 26.5 feet; J.anuary 29, 1896, 26.6 feet; February 25, 1901, 
28.2 feet; March 1, 1902, 28.2 feet; March 4, 1903, 27.6 feet; FeV 
riiary 27, 1904, 26.1 feet; February 7, 1907, 27.2 feet; and January 
17, 1909, 29.6 feet, the liighest ever recorded. 

While, as has been stated, the city of Sacramento itself has not 
been flooded in recent 3^ears, all of the high stages quoted above 
have resulted more or less seriously at many points up the river, 
especially in cases where vulnerable levees offered inadequate pro- 
tection to lands in process of reclamation. For instance, the flood 
of 1881, is still remembered in the vicinity of Red Bluff and Tehama, 
where a large area of country was under water, causing heavy 
damage — loss of stock, destruction of bridges, etc. This flood was 
the result of heavy rainfall that was, for the most part, confined to 
the northern end of the valley, over 7 inches of rain having been 
recorded at Red Bluff during the three days ending January 30, 
1881, and torrential rains, according to authentic reports, at points 
contiguous to the junction of the Sacramento and Pit Rivers. 

The two most notable floods of the Sacramento and San Joaquin 
^\^lleys, from a pecuniary standpoint, were those of March, 1907, and 
January, 1909. It is thought that these floods were equally as wide- 
spread as was that of 1862, and the losses were, no doubt, far in excess. 

In 1907 the land thought to be protected and that under process of 
reclamation aggregated a greater acreage than at any previous time 
in the liistory of the Great Valley. The same may be said of the flood 
of 1909, as the flood of this year occurred about the time when new 
levees had replaced those leveled two years previous, and many new 
reclamation districts besides. During both of these floods many 
levees were either badly damaged or totally destroyed, large areas 
rendered useless for immediate cultivation, bridges, both railroad and 
county, swept away, and many miles of county roads and railroad 
tracks rendered impassable. 

The floods of 1907 and 1909 in the Sacramento and San Joaquin 
Valleys, and those of 1911 in the Lower San Joaqum Valley are the 
only inundations of which there is a complete record at all strategic 
pouits on the two trunk streams and their main tributaries. 

THE FLOODS OF 1907. 

The great floods that prevailed in the rivers of the Sacramento and 
San Joaquin VaUeys during March, 1907, were, of course, the direct 
results of heavy, warm rains and melting snows that immediately 
preceded them. 



64 FLOODS OF SACRAMENTO AND SAN JOAQUIN WATERSHEDS. 



Table of daily precipitation at selected stations' in the Sacramento and San Joaquin 

watersheds during March, 1907. 

[In this connection see h3'drographs, figs. 23 to 27, inclusive, for this period.] 



Date. 



Elevation, feet 

Mar. 8 

Mar. 9 

Mar. 10 

Mar. 11 

Mar. 12 

Mar. 13 

Mar. 14 

Mar. 15 

Mar. 16 

Mar. 17 

Mar. 18 

Mar. 19 

Mar. 20 

Mar. 21 

Mar. 22 

Mar. 23 

Mar. 24 

Mar. 25 

Sum 



Alturas. 



4,460 



0.28 
.05 
.05 
.25 
.00 
.00 
.00 
.00 
.08 
.55 
. 75 
.14 
.15 
.01 
.05 
.60 
.05 
.15 



3.16 



Sisson. 



3,555 



0.00 

.45 

.66 

.00 

.00 

.00 

.00 

.00 

.00 

.00 

3.55 

1.27 

2.25 

.60 

.60 

2.00 

.20 

.40 



12.0 



Ken- 
nett. 



616 



0.00 
.50 
.0 

.00 
.00 
.00 
.56 
.00 
.00 
.00 
.00 
.54 
2.44 
2.00 
1.56 
.82 
.82 
.08 



9.32 



Duns- 
muir. 



2,285 



0.20 

.66 

.30 

2.53 

.00 

.00 

.00 

.00 

.00 

2.00 

2.87 

2.72 

2.00 

.72 

.60 

.80 

.40 

1.20 



18.8 



Delta. 



1,138 



Shasta. 



1,049 



Red- 
ding. 



552 



0.05 



1.10 

1.90 

.90 

.10 

.00 

.00 

.00 

.00 

1.10 

3.50 

3.50 

3.10 

.80 

1.00 

2.50 

2.00 

.10 



21.6 



0.13 


0.01 


.33 


.67 


1.14 


.49 


.16 


.18 


.00 


.00 


.00 


.00 


.00 


.00 


.00 


.00 


.38 


.38 


1.54 


1.36 


2.25 


.88 


1.03 


.11 


.17 


.07 


.51 


.23 


2.17 


.19 


1.93 


1.12 


.62 


.11 


.51 


.09 



12.9 



5.89 



Red 
Bluff. 



307 



0.04 
.69 
.21 
.06 
.00 
.00 
.00 
.69 
.65 
.62 
.28 
.00 
.01 
.75 
.23 
.05 
.06 
.89 



5.23 



Nim- 
shew. 



2,500 



0.00 

1.49 

.33 

1.45 

.00 

.00 

.00 

.00 

1.40 

5. 54 

4.00 

3.02 

1.17 

.43 

. 75 

2.00 

.38 

.62 



22.6 



Quincy. 



3.400 



0.00 

.60 

.40 

.60 

.20 

.00 

.00 

.00 

.70 

6.30 

6.50 

4.40 

1.75 

.50 

.60 

3.60 

1.30 

1.40 



27.8 



Date. 


Chico. 


Fruto. 


Colusa. 


Oro- 
ville. 


WU- 
lows. 


Nevada 
City. 


Au- 
burn. 


Fol- 
som. 


Sacra- 
mento. 


George- 
town. 


Elevation, feet 


189 


624 


60 


147 


136 


2,580 


1,360 


Ill 


71 


2,650 


Mar. 8 


0.00 
.93 
.18 
.25 
.02 
.00 
.00 
.00 
.81 

1.58 
.73 
.36 
.35 
.22 
.18 

1.31 

• .06 

.00 


0.00 
.23 
.36 
.00 
.00 
.00 
.00 
.00 
.22 
.45 
.40 
.30 
.25 
.00 
.00 

1.20 
.00 
.30 


0.36 
.50 
.10 
.00 
.00 
.00 
.00 
.26 
.78 
.14 
.46 
.12 
.00 
.22 

1.02 
.20 
.08 
.00 


0.00 

.30 

.86 

.43 

.22 

.00 

.00 

.33 

2.35 

1.10 

1.44 

.52 

.08 

.30 

1..32 

.48 

.22 

.11 


0.00 
.42 
.18 
.06 
.00 
.00 
.00 
.00 
.51 
.70 
.13 
.05 
.01 
.15 
.01 
.78 
.15 
.00 


0.08 

1.45 

.51 

.96 

.15 

.00 

.00 

.00 

.91 

2.47 

3.34 

3.63 

1.50 

.41 

.58 

3.43 

.98 

.90 


0.46 
.00 

2.35 
.32 
.00 
.00 
.00 
.00 
.16 

2.08 
.39 

3.11 
.88 
.36 
.44 
.83 
.00 

2.94 


0.00 
.24 
.98 
.52 
.20 
.00 
.00 
.00 
.26 

1.42 
.10 

2.08 
.60 
.26 
.26 
.68 

1.28 
.62 


0.12 
.40 
.15 
.06 
.00 
.00 
.00 
.04 

1.15 
.42 

1.74 
.56 
.06 
.15 
.05 

1.46 
.25 
.01 


0.00 


Mar. 9 


.50 


Mar. 10 


2.31 


Mar. 11 


.65 


Mar. 12 


. 75 


Mar 13 


40 


Mar. 14 


1.20 


Mar. 15 


.40 


Mar. 16 


.30 


Mar. 17 


3.58 


Mar. 18 


1.08 


Mar. 19 


4.90 


Mar. 20 


1.48 


Mar. 21 


.76 


Mar. 22 


.91 


Mar. 23 


1.78 


Mar. 24 


2.55 


Mar. 25 


1.85 


Sum 


6.98 


3.71 


4.24 


10.1 


3.15 


21.3 


14.3 


9.50 


6.62 


25.4 







Daily precipitation at selected stations in the San Joaquin watershed from Mar. 4 to Mar. 

23, 1907. 



Date. 


Sanger. 


Fire- 
baugh. 


Merced 
Falls. 


Friant. 


Yosem- 
ite. 


Jack- 

son- 

. ville. 


Me- 
lones. 


La- 
throp. 


Elec- 
tra. 


Jenny 
Lind. 


Elevation, feet 


371 


154 


321 


355 


3,945 


602 


750 


19 


670 




Mar. 4 


0.35 
.32 
.28 
.00 
.04 
.00 
.00 
.56 
.19 
.00 
.00 
.00 
.00 
.29 
.00 
.10 
.19 
.16 
.16 
.38 


0.43 
.14 
.05 
.00 
.00 
.00 
.00 
.68 
.10 
.00 
.00 
.00 
.00 
.08 
.00 
.03 
.00 
.41 
.12 
.00 


0.41 
.20 
.30 
.00 
.00 
.00 
.33 
.60 
.10 
.00 
.00 
.00 
.00 
.20 
.00 

1.10 
.00 
.47 
.32 

1.13 


0.34 
.44 
..38 
.00 
.00 
.00 
..38 
.74 
.12 
.00 
.00 
.00 
.00 
.40 
.00 
.28 
.02 
.00 
.36 
.06 


0.61 

1.88 

.25 

.05 

.10 

.01 

2.15 

.92 

.38 

.00 

.00 

.00 

1.40 

2.61 

2.02 

1.S5 

1.15 

.tV5 

.85 

.60 


0.50 
.41 
.30 
.26 
.28 

1.46 

1.52 
.28 
.00 
.00 
.00 
.00 
.00 

1.30 
.01 

2.48 
.08 
.90 
.62 
.00 


1.30 
.24 

M4 
.26 
.00 
.00 

1.98 

1.92 
.64 
.00 
.00 
.00 
.00 

1.88 
.06 

2. 06 
.00 

1.04 

1.84 
.00 


0.00 
.44 
.00 
.00 
.00 
.00 
.60 
.06 
.10 
.00 
.00 
.00 
.00 
.84 
.00 
.80 
.(X) 
.00 
.48 
.00 


0.44 
.42 
.18 
.04 
.00 
.00 

2.20 
.86 
.86 
.16 
.00 
.00 
.00 

1.66 
.26 

4. 56 
.•14 

l.(X) 
.64 
.24 


00 


Mar. 5 


62 


Mar. 6 


.26 


Mar. 7 


22 


Mar. 8 


00 


Mar. 9 


00 


Mar. 10 


10 


Mar. 11 


1 60 


Mar. 12 


48 


Mar. 13 


.50 
00 


Mar. 14 


Mar. 15 


00 


Mar. 16 


19 


Mar. 17 


70 


Mar. IS 


08 


Mar. 19 


2 00 


Mar. 20 


10 


Mar. 21 


40 


Mar. 22 


35 


Mar. 23 


46 






Sum 


3.02 


2,04 


5.16 


3.52 


17.5 


10.4 


13.4 


3.32 


14.0 


8.60 





FLOODS OF SACKAMENTO AND SAN JOAQUIN WATERSHEDS. 65 



Hydrographs, Sacramento River system, March, 1907. 



FEET. 
28 

25 
20 

15 
10 


/ 


2 


3 


^ 


s 


6 


7 


8 


9 


/o 


// /2 /3 /^ 


/^ 


/6 


/? 


/s 


/9 


20 


2/ 


22 


— 1 
23 


2¥ 


?s 


ee 


27^8^9 3o 








































r 


V 








































MARCH 














\ 
























































ft 






\ 


























































^ 




V 


^^ 
















































i 














> 


\ 
































^^ 












J 






\ 












•^ 


\J 


























/ 




N 










■1 








\ 


\ 












s 




^ 


















J 


r 






\ 






1 


/ 










\ 
\ 














V 




N 


s 






VA 


/ 


s 


^4 


f 










s 




/V 






























^ 


^. 


y 


/ 




















V 


i> 

1 














\ 

\ 




























































\ 


k 


























































































































\ 
"^t 








































1 


















































































\ 






























































\ 

\ 






























































'x... 






















»* , 


.— 


-- 


, 
































^•.^^ 


















1 












































»^ 
















1 
1 










\ 




1 
































X 


k 




* 
/ 




''». 


R 


1 










y 




1 

t 


































\ 


»** 


/ 


















































A 




1 



Fig. 23.— Hydrographs, March, 1907. M, Colusa; R, Red Bluff. 



FT. 
25 

20 

15 


/ 


2 


3 


^ 


S 


6 


7 


8 


9 


/o 


// 


/2 


J3 


/¥ 


/S 


/6 


17 


18 


/9 


20 


T? 


22 


23 


2¥ 


25 


26 


27 


28 


?9 


30 




















































































MAR C H. 


































































^ 


— 


■*-. 


^^ 




















































/ 










"^ 


"^ 


x^ 












































i 


f 
















^ 


•>>, 






























































s 


s 




































1 
























^ 














Gi 




















/ 




























"^ 






•^ 


— 




— 


— 




-^ 










^ 






































































> 


f^- 


'N 


















_ 






































/ 






\ 




















































J 


f 








V 


^ 


_^_ 








^^ 


^ 












H 






















4 


/ 






























■"■ 


"^ 




■"" 


■""" 




^ 


"^ 


"* 
































"1 



Fig. 24.— Hydrographs. G, Sacramento; H, Knights Landing. 
81870°— Bull. 43—13 5 



Hydrographs, Sacramento River system, March, 1907 — Continued. 



FEET. 
25 

20 

15 
10 
5 


/^ 


/6 


n 


/8 


19 


20 21 2223 2f 


2626 


27 


28 ?9 










A 




























/^ 


MARCH. 


















/ 


\ 


























/ 




























/ 






























/ 




I 






























\ 
























1 




\ 




























\ 






























\ 






























\ 






























\ 






























\ 


\ 






























\ 
































\ 


















1 












\ 


L 
















/ 














\ 
















/ 
















S 


B 










i 


















V 






- 




1 




























/ 




























^i 


f 




























/ 






























/ 






























'*- ^1 



Fig. 25.— Oroville on Feather, March, 1907. 



FEET. 
25 

20 

15 

10 


/6 


/6 


/7 


/8 


/9 


20 


2f 


22 


23 


?^ 


26 


26 


27 


28 


29 






























— 












MAR 


CH. 


















fL. 




























1 


\ 




























1 


y 


V- 


























t 




A 


























r 




^ 


\ 






















i' 






\ 






















/ 










\ 


















/ 










\ 


V 


















I 












X 


^ 


^_ 












A 


r 
















N 


s. 






i^ 




y 




















-N 


s 


4 


^ 
























































































^1 



66 



FlQ. 2U.— Marysvillc on Yuba, March, 1907. 



FLOODS OF SACRAMENTO AND SAN JOAQUIN WATERSHEDS. 67 



Hydrographs, Sacramento River system, March, 1907 — Continued. 



FEET. 
25 

20 

15 

10 

5 


/S 


/6 


n 


/8 


/9 


Z0Z/?Z23 


^¥ 


?5 


26 


27 


^<5' 


^9 










































MARCI 


H. 




















A 






























A 






























/ 
























































I ' 




























\ 


























/ 




\ 


























/ 




\ 


























/ 




) 


L 
























/ 






V 
























/ 






\ 






















A 










\ 




























\ 


^ 


<S 


V 














i 
















N 


\ 












/ 


















\ 


^ 










/ 




















s 


V 








/ 






















X 


s^ 


































1 


' 




























/ 




























v^ 


1 


























































^1 



Fig. 27.— Folsom City on American, March, 1907. 



68 FLOODS OF SACRAMENTO AND SAN JOAQUIN WATERSHEDS. 

Conditions, however, during January and February of that year 
were largely responsible for the intensity of those in the watershed 
of the Sacramento. During the first days of January and the first 
decade of Februars^ the occurrence of heavy rains in the headwaters 
of the Sacramento drainage basin caused rapid rises in all streams, 
and, in some cases, floods and freshets. There were marked and 
dangeroiis rises at Folsom, on the American, on February 2, and at 
Marysville, on the Yuba, on the 3d, where stages of 21.2 and 22.2 feet, 
respectively, were recorded. From February 4 to 11, inclusive, high 
stages were also general in parts of the Sacramento River. 

Before the rivers of the Sacramento watershed had recovered from 
the rains and melting snows of Februarv^, and while all flood basins 
on both sides of the Sacramento were practically full, another j)eriod 
of precipitation occurred between March 4 and 11. This condition 
resulted in raising the rivers to a point much beyond the stages 
usually maintained at this time of the year. From March 16 to 20, 
inclusive, there was another period of precipitation that was coexten- 
sive with the entire northern half of the State. At the same time 
temperatures were much above the seasonal normal in the high foot- 
hills and on the flanks of the mountains, which were thickly covered 
with the accumulated snows of the two preceding months. The 
effects of the heavy, warm rains and melting snows were almost 
immediate, and all the main rivers quickly responded to the 
increased run-off of the mountain feeders. At Kennett, on the 
Upper Sacramento, the river rose from 6.3 on the 17th to 18 feet on 
the 18th, and to 25 and 33.2 feet, respectively, on the two succeeding 
days. At Red Bluff the river rose from 7.9 to 20.7 feet between the 
1 6th and 17th. On the 18th, 19th, and 20th, while the flood waters of 
the Upper Sacramento and Pitt Rivers were passing, stages of 22.8, 
26, and 26.8 feet, respectively, were recorded at Red Bluff. At Colusa 
the river began rising rai)idly during the night of the 17th, and by 
the morning of the 18th there was a gage readmg of 22.7 feet, fol- 
lowed on the 19th and 20th by stages of 26 and 26.8 feet, respectively. 
The river rose slowly at Knights Landing, as the numerous breaks 
above tended to flatten out the flood wave before reaching that ])oint. 
The river was high, however, and contmued above the flood stage 
from the 20th to 24th, inclusive. By the mornhig of the 17th the 
river at Sacramento City had akeady become swollen as a result of 
the out])ut of the American. On this date a gage reading of 20.9 feet 
was observed, after which the river rose gradually, averaging about 
1 foot per day until the 20th, when it culminated in a stage of 26.9 
fe(^t. The breaking of the levees at many i)()ints above and below 
Sacramento cliecked a further rise at this ])oint, but the river remained 
above the 26-foot stage for several days. The effects of the Sacra- 



FLOODS OF SACRAMENTO AND SAN JOAQUIN WATEKSHEDS. 69 

mento River flood were first felt at Rio Vista on about tlie 21st, 
after which the river at that point rose rapidly until the 24th, when 
it culminated in a stage of 17 feet, but a high stage was maintained 
for several days, due to the output of Yolo Basin through the sloughs 
that drain this basin into the Sacramento River. 

The American at Folsom began rising on the night of the 16th, and 
by the morning of the 17th had risen from 6.2 to 12 feet. On the 
18th it had risen to 18.6 feet, and by 7 a. m. of the 19th had reached 
the unusually high stage of 26.8, the highest ever recorded, except 
during the flood of 1862. 

Coincident with the rise of the American, the Feather and Yuba 
Rivers rose rapidly. At Marysville, on the Yuba, the river rose from 
14.1 to 20.1 feet from the 17th to 18th, and by the morning of the 
19th had reached a stage of 23.3 feet, the highest observed. 

At Oroville, on the Feather, the river rose from 5.1 to 11.6 feet 
during the 24 hours ending at 7 a. m. of the 17th. On the morning 
of the 18th it had risen to 23.6, and at 7 a. m. of the 19th the gage 
showed 28.2 feet, the crest of the flood at that point. As has been 
stated in another part of this paper, the flood waters of the Feather 
escaped through breaks in the levees at Hamilton Bend and rushed 
westward across country between Biggs and Gridley, thence through 
the lowlands north of MarysviQe Buttes and into the Sacramento 
River by way of Butte Slough. 

While the floods were raging in the Sacramento Valley, like con- 
ditions were occurring in all sections of the San Joaquin north of the 
Tuolumne. The Tuolumne at Jacksonville reached a stage of 24 feet 
on the 19th, and a high stage was maintained on this stream from the 
mouth of Woods Creek to its mouth until the 21st, after which it fell 
sharply. The Stanislaus rose briskly from the 16th to the 21st, 
culminating at a stage of 12.2 feet, the highest on record. It remained 
at a high stage until the 26th. The Calaveras rose from 4.3 to 13 
feet between 7 a. m. of the 16th and the corresponding hour of the 
17th, and rushed into Mormon Slough at the rate of some 10 miles an 
hour and thence overflowing a large area of country. The Mokelumne 
rose from 8 to 13 feet during the 24 hours ending at 7 a. m. of the 
19th. Below Bensons Ferry the flood waters of this stream were 
reenforced by a heavy swell from the Cosumnes. The combined 
run-off of the two rivers resulted in flooding something over 15,000 
acres of land above Lodi. While the Mokelumne flood was at its 
worst, conditions were intensified by the breaking of the east side 
Sacramento levees near Courtland, through which the Sacramento 
River flood waters rushed into the lower Mokelumne Basin. 

The San Joaquin River itself was at or above the flood stage from 
Mendota to the mouth of the river from the 19th to near the close 



70 FLOODS OF SACRAMENTO AND SAN JOAQUIN WATERSHEDS. 

of the month; this was especially so below Lathrop, where the 
highest stage on record, 19.2 feet, was recorded on the 20th. From 
about the 21st to the 28th the greatest damage was done in the delta 
lands of both trunk streams. (See list of islands and other tracts 
that were flooded, p. 91.) 

Floods in the Sacramento and San Joaquin Valleys, 1909. 

There were a series of floods in the central valleys of California 
from January 14 to 25, inclusive, and during the first decade of 
February, 1909. Those during the first-named period equaled in 
intensity the floods of 1907. 

The first dangerous condition noted in connection with the 1909 
floods was the heavy rainfall throughout the San Joaquin Valley on 
the 13th of January, and especially in the headwaters of the Calaveras 
River. 



Table of daily precipitation at selected stations in the Sacramento watershed from Jan. 1 

to 31, 1909. 

[See hydrographs, figs. 28 to 40, for this period.] 



Date. 


Alturas. 


Sisson. 


Ken- 

nett. 


Duns- 
muir. 


Shasta. 


Red- 
ding. 


Red 
Bluff. 


Quincy. 


Chico. 


Elevation feet. . 


4, 460 


3,555 


616 


2,285 


1,049 


552 


307 


3,400 


189 


Jan. 1 


0.01 
.05 
.08 
.00 
.36 
.18 
.30 
.60 
.70 
.00 
.00 
.00 
.11 
.69 
.17 
.17 
.30 
.07 
.04 
.05 
.40 
.17 
.00 
.00 
.01 
.00 
.01 
.00 
.00 
.00 
.00 


1.25 

1.24 
.00 
.90 

1.19 
.89 

1.86 
.15 
.00 
.00 
.00 
.02 
.62 
.05 

1.22 
.31 
.08 
.33 

1.28 

2.25 
.65 
.10 
.00 

2.40 
.60 
.00 
.00 
.00 
.00 

1.30 
.83 


1.22 

1.74 

3.20 

.04 

1.20 

2.90 

3.10 

3.04 

1.24 

.00 

.00 

.00 

.50 

3.00 

2.68 

8.90 

.54 

1.04 

.90 

2.42 

.60 

1.10 

.06 

.50 

.50 

3.10 

.30 

.00 

.00 

.86 

4.00 


1.74 

1.55 

1.96 

.16 

1.14 

2.05 

2.02 

2.64 

.63 

.00 

.00 

.00 

.50 

1.84 

1.56 

3.00 

.80 

.49 

1.00 

2.49 

2.45 

.48 

.15 

1.10 

1.30 

.30 

.00 

.00 

.00 

.30 

.95 


0.84 

.93 

.48 

.38 

2.32 

2.04 

3.87 

2.68 

.08 

.54 

.67 

.34 

1.40 

1.87 

.91 

.71 

2.04 

1.30 

2.13 

2.94 

1.60 

1.17 

.97 

2.28 

.08 

.15 

.00 

.00 

.(W 

.18 

.38 


1.25 

.85 

.39 

.23 

2.24 

1.53 

1.07 

2.43 

.00 

.00 

.00 

.11 

.73 

1.65 

2.11 

.51 

.94 

.04 

.93 

.77 

.22 

.07 

.17 

3.45 

1.20 

.76 

.00 

.00 

.00 

.58 

.05 


1.04 
.17 
.08 
.73 
2.00 
.00 
.71 
.34 
.00 
.00 
.00 
.29 
.23 
1.42 
1.36 
.10 
.06 
.02 
.04 
.09 
.12 
.04 
.08 
1.43 
1.49 
.47 
.00 
.00 
.00 
.37 
.14 


1.02 

2.43 

1.37 

.00 

2.58 

1.35 

1.96 

3.10 

.54 

.00 

.00 

.10 

1.48 

3.20 

2.77 

1.90 

.35 

.17 

1.10 

2.45 

1.77 

.81 

1.09 

.80 

.83 

.45 

.00 

.05 

.00 

.50 

1.00 


0.90 


Jan. 2 


.79 


Jan. 3 


.82 


Jan. 4 


.08 


Jan .5 


1.60 


Jan. 6 


1.07 


Jan. 7 


.32 


Jan. 8 


1.25 


Jan. 9 


.00 


Jan. 10 


.00 


Jan. 11 


.00 


Jan. 12 


.04 


Jan. 13 


.48 


Jan. 14 


.28 


Jan. 15 


1.12 


Jan. 16 


.44 


Jan. 17 


.15 


Jan. 18 


.10 


Jan. 19 


.50 


Jan. 20 


.70 


Jan. 21 


.46 


Jan. 22 


.10 


Jan .23 


.00 


Jan. 24 ;.. 


.75 


Jan. 25 


.59 


Jan. 26 


.80 


Jan. 27 


.05 


Jan. 28 


.00 


Jan. 29 


.00 


Jan. 30 


.89 


Jan. 31 


.10 






Sum 


4.47 


20.72 


54.08 


32.60 


35.96 


24.28 


13.42 


36.17 


14.38 







FLOODS OF SaCEAMENTO AND SaN JOaQUIN WATERSHEDS. Yl 

Table of daily precipitation at selected stations in the Sacramento ivatershed from Jan. 1 

to 31, ./90S'— Continued. 



Date. 


Fruto. 


Colusa. 


Oro- 
ville. 


Wil- 
lows. 


Nevada 
City. 


Au- 
burn. 


Folsom. 


Sacra- 
mento. 


George- 
town. 


Elevation feet. . 


624 


60 


147 


136 


2,580 


1,360 


Ill 


71 


2,650 


Jan. 1 


0.90 
.33 
.60 
.00 
.70 

1.05 
.00 
.50 
.20 
.00 
.00 
.00 
.20 
.20 
.40 
.80 
.00 
.00 
.00 
.20 
.65 
.15 
.00 
.30 
.65 

3.30 
.10 
.20 
.00 
.30 
.00 


0.16 
.52 
.00 
.40 

1.04 
.06 
.62 
.04 
.00 
.00 
.06 
.22 
.18 
.68 
.50 
.00 
.04 
.06 
.12 
.58 
.16 
.00 
.06 
.52 
.68 
.18 
.00 
.00 
.14 
.24 
.00 


0.54 
1.00 
1.26 
.00 
.68 
1.54 
.06 
1.40 
.10 
.00 
.00 
.01 
.76 
.58 
.70 
1.45 
.02 
.40 
.24 
.48 
.85 
.34 
.01 
.00 
.34 
.42 
.08 
.01 
.00 
.00 
.00 


0.71 
.12 
.48 
.08 

1.10 
.74 
.13 
.65 
.05 
.00 
.00 
.13 
.16 
.28 
.74 
.70 
.00 
.00 
.17 
.51 
.30 
.08 
.01 
.76 
.21 
.87 
.08 
.02 
.00 
.27 
.02 


0.80 

.55 

1.57 

.02 

.97 

1.79 

1.02 

3.45 

1.10 

.00 

.05 

.19 

2.92 

4.48 

3.26 

1.62 

.31 

.49 

.52 

2.31 

1.68 

.50 

.38 

.18 

.64 

.09 

.13 

.01 

.00 

.81 

.01 


0.42 

.20 

.62 

.00 

.41 

1.45 

.23 

1.28 

1.59 

.00 

.00 

.18 

2.40 

2.95 

3.20 

2.00 

.00 

.70 

.08 

1.20 

1.28 

1.68 

.29 

.00 

.42 

.08 

.42 

.00 

.00 

.00 

.00 


0.44 
.00 
.44 
.00 
.26 
.26 
.20 
.92 
.98 
.00 
.00 
.00 

1.34 
.94 

2.10 

1.60 
.00 
.30 
.00 
.58 

1.28 
.32 
.12 
.02 
.44 
.10 
.22 
.00 
.00 
.00 
.48 


0.39 
.28 
.05 
.21 
.34 
.35 
.06 

1.05 
.06 
.00 
.04 
.65 
.37 

1.28 

1.03 
.32 
.12 
.00 
.29 

1.20 
.41 
.15 
.00 
.44 
.12 
.12 
.05 
.00 
.00 
.27 
.00 


0.90 


Jan. 2 


.09 


Jan. 3 


.91 


Jan. 4 


.00 


Jan. 5 


.62 


Jan. 6 


1.87 


Jan. 7 


.50 


Jan. 8 


2.40 


Jan. 9 


3.28 


Jan. 10 


.10 


Jan. 11 


.00 


Jan. 12 


.26 


Jan. 13 


4.12 


Jan. 14 


6.05 


Jan. 15 


5.56 


Jan. 16 


2.94 


Jan. 17 


.28 


Jan. 18 


.84 


Jan. 19 


.04 


Jan. 20 


1.62 


Jan. 21 


2.70 




.69 


Jan. 23 


.61 




.26 


Jan. 25 


.60 




.04 


Jan. 27 


.35 




.02 


Jan. 29 


.00 




.00 


Jan. 31 


.71 






Sum 


11.73 


7.26 


13.27 


9.37 


31.85 


23.08 


13.94 


9.65 


38.36 







Daily precipitation at selected stations in the San Joaquin watershed from Jan. 9 to Jan. 

27, 1909. 



[See flood charts for this period.] 



Date. 




1 
1 


o 

S-i 

O 




•a 


a 

i 


> 
§ 


a 
o 


ft 
o 


03 


.a 

o 
>-> 


Elevation feet. . 


371 


154 


3,000 


321 


355 


3,945 


602 


750 


19 


670 




Jan. 9 


0.00 
.00 
.24 
1.68 
2.16 
.50 
.00 
.00 
.00 
.00 
.00 
.00 
.94 
.00 
.00 
.00 
.00 
.00 
.00 


0.14 
.00 
.00 
.34 
.43 
.06 
.00 
.00 
.00 
.00 
.00 
.16 
.49 
.00 
.17 
.00 
.05 
.75 
.79 


0.78 

.20 

.00 

.95 

4.43 

4.42 

.61 

.05 

.10 

.00 

.00 

.58 

4.04 

1.50 

.30 

.03 

.47 

.09 

.52 


0.24 
.00 
.26 

1.65 
.74 
.49 
.17 
.00 
.00 
00 
.22 
.79 
.35 
.40 
.00 
.68 
.74 
.70 
.00 


0.42 
.10 
.00 
.38 

1.86 
.88 
.12 
.00 
.00 
00 
.00 
.34 
.96 
.26 
.26 
.00 
18 
.22 
.46 


1.78 

.00 

.00 

.77 

3.47 

3.17 

.49 

.67 

.07 

.00 

.00 

.79 

4.18 

1.68 

.78 

.00 

.75 

.60 

.64 


1.92 
.12 
.00 
.16 

2.90 

1.76 
.36 
.32 
.04 
.00 
.00 
.04 

1.56 
.60 
.70 
.00 
.96 
.76 
.70 


1.96 

.00 

.00 

.16 

2.12 

4.56 

.56 

.58 

.12 

.06 

.00 

.70 

2.10 

1.04 

.70 

.01 

.86 

1.08 

.62 


0.52 
.00 
.00 
.32 
.54 
.24 
.04 
.29 
.00 
.00 
.00 
.33 

2.30 
.18 
.12 
.00 
.08 
.20 
.03 


1.54 

.00 

.00 

.18 

2.56 

2.60 

1.08 

.42 

.22 

.58 

.00 

.70 

1.64 

.82 

.50 

.06 

.64 

.30 

.42 


0.00 


Jan. 10 


.00 


Jan. 11 


.30 


Jan. 12 


1.08 


Jan. 13 


1.60 


Jan. 14 


.68 


Jan. 15 


.24 


Jan. 16 


.16 


Jan. 17 


.00 


Jan. 18 


.00 


Jan. 19 


.55 


Jan. 20 


.54 


Jan. 21 


2.00 


Jan. 22 


.50 


Jan. 23 


.15 


Jan. 24 


.70 


Jan. 25 


.70 


Jan. 26 


.30 


Jan. 27 


.00 






Sum 


5.52 


3.38 


19.1 


7.43 


6.44 


19.8 


12.9 


17.2 


5.19 


14.3 


9.50 







72 FLOODS OF SACRAMENTO AND SAN JOAQUIN WATERSHEDS. 



Hydrographs, Sacramento River system, March, 1907, and January, J 901. 

KenneJ-t, Cal. 



FEET. 
33 

30 
25 
20 
15 
10 
5 


/f^A 


^ /6 


/7 


/8 


/? 


ZO 


2/ 2 


2P3 


2V 


2d>- 


26 


27 


28 






































[ 












































































i 1 


1 1 


























1 1 






















/ 




I 
1 1 










































































/ 




















1 1 

1 1 

1 1 






























I 






























I 1 


























\ ' 




















I 






;\ 




















/ \ 

1 






\ 


















■ 1 

w 




\ 

\ 

\ 


i 


' \ 


\.\/^ 


1 


















\ 
\ 


t 

/ 
/ 




i 


























1 
1 


\ 


























\ 
























t 
1 


\ 


























^ 


\ 


























\ 


\ 










1 














\ 


























\ 


s. 




















V 






\ 


* 




/ 




















* 






/ 






















V 


-^ 
























A\ 



Fiu. 28.— Solid line. March, 1907; dotted lino, Jannaiy, 1909. 



FLOODS OF SACRAMENTO AND SAN JOAQUIN WATERSHEDS. 73 



Hydrographs, Sacramento River system, Jamiary, 1909. 



FEET. 
28 

25 
20 
15 
10 

5 



/ 


^ 


3 


V 


s 


6 


7 


S 


9 


/o // 


/2 


/3 


/¥ 


/S 


/6 


/7 


/d 


/9 


20 


2/ 


22 


?v?2V 


i";* 


26 


2? 


2d 


29 


30 


3/ 


















JANUARY. 
































































\ 


















































* 


• H 










\ 






\ 








^ 


































• 

^ 






\ 






[ 


!\ 


\ 








A 






P 






























^^ 








\ 






/ 




\ 


\ 






i 






* 


*^. 


— • 


" 






















t 












\ 




\ 






\ 
















A 




% 


< 
















1 




/ 


A 








V 

> 


1 


\ 








1 














'\ 






\ 


\ 














1 




/ 














' 








> 






















> 














|/ 


/ 






















y 








L 
























D, 


^ 


\ 


i 




\ 




























\ 
























1 


i 


\ 


































\ 




\ 


















1 




1 


1 


/ 
































1 


E 


1 


















1 




1 




J 


































\J 






\ 














1 
1 




1 












































\ 












i 






f 












































\ 


1 










1 




I 
















































\ 










• 




1 
















































\^ 










t 




1 


















































\ 


/ 






r\ 


E 


1 














V 




■ 
































\ 


J 




/ 




^- 


' 














\ 




J 






































// 






















>^ 


y 






































If 






























































If 
/■ 






























































It 
It 
























































































































/ 






























































/ 






























































/ 




























































































































^1 



Fig. 29.— Hydrographs, January, 1909. D, Colusa; E, Red Bluff. 



74 FLOODS OF SACRAMENTO AND SAN JOAQUIN WATERSHEDS. 



Hydrographs, Sacramento River system, January, 1909 — Continued. 



FT. 
29 

25 
20 
15 
10 

5 



/ 


2 


3 


*f 


<5 


6 


7 


8 


9 


/o 


// 


/2 


(3 


f¥ 


fS 


/6 


17 


/8 


f9 


20 


2/ 


72 


?3 


?y 


26 


26 


27 


28 


2^ 


30 


31 




































r\ 






































JANUARY. 








> 




\ 


























































/ 






\ 






^^ 


6 














































i 


f 














'V 


s. 












































/ 


















-^ 


^ 








































J 


























k 


^ 


































/ 
































s 




























i 


r 






















































•\. 




























































/ 




s 




/ 




















































t 


f 


























































A 


J 


















/ 




^ 


V. 






C 




^ 




— 






















1 


\J 
















/ 










<- 


— 






























) 










^ 








y 












































/ 








/ 




















































/ 








/ 




















































1 






,/ 


^' 






















































1 


/• 


*> 


r 
























































1 J 




























































i 


1 






























































1 


























































B^ 


1 


1 


























































y 


























































































































































































' 




























































5/ 






























































y 






















































































































































































^1 



Fig. 30.— Hydrographs, Sacramento River, January, 1909. B, Sacramento; C, Knights Landing. 



FLOODS OF SACRAMENTO AND SAN JOAQUIN WATERSHEDS. 
Hydrographs, Sacramento River system, January, 1909 — Continued. 



75 



FEET. 
25 

20 

15 
10 
5 


/3 


/¥ 


/S 


/6 17 /8 /9 


20 2/ 


^^ 


23 


2^ 






JANUAI 


RY. 






































/I 














































,1 






















\ 
























/ 


1 






















/ 






















/ 
























f 




\ 
























\ 


















1 






\ 






> 


^ 


1 








/ 






' 


V 




/ 




\ 








/ 








\ 


i 


/ 




\ 






B 










\ 


y 






\ 


B 
























V 






















\ 


























\ 


/ 






















\ 


/ 
























/ 








































































M 



Fig. 31.— Hydrograpli, Orovilleon Feather. 



FEET. 
25 

20 

15 


/3 


/^ 


/S 


/6 


/7 


/g 


/9 


20 


2/ 


22 


ej 


^y 


2<$ 


































JAN 


UARY. 




















TT 
























/ 






















1 




























\ 


























\ 






















I 






\ 


















/ 






^ 


\ 


C 
























^ 


s 














/ 














s 


1^ 










/ 


















V, 


c 




y 






















"^ 
























^1 



Fig. 32.— Hydrograph, January, 1909, Marysville on Yuba. 



76 FLOODS OF SACRAMENTO AND SAN JOAQUIN WATERSHEDS. 



Hydrographs, Sacramento and San Joaquin River systems. 



FEET. 
25 

20 

15 

10 


/3 /^ 


^/^ /6 17 /8 /9 ZOZI 22 23 


^y 




viANUARY. 








f\ 






















\ 






















\ 






















> 


V 






















\ 






















\ 






















\ 










r 


B 












V 








/ 


I 












\ 


V. 






/ 


\ 














\ 






/ 


\ 














> 


\ 


} 




\ 






n 










\ 


/ 




> 


V 






















\ 




/ 




















\ 


r 






















H 



Fig. 33.— Hydrograph, Folsom on American, 1909. 




Fig. 34.— Uydrographs, San Joaquin Kivor system, spring freshet, 1907 



Hydrographs, San Joaquin system, March, 1907. 



FT. 
19 

15 
10 

3 



- 


S 


6 


7 


5 


9 


/o 


II 


12 


/J 


l¥ 


/^ 


/^ 


/7 


/<? 


19 


20 


2/ 


22 


23 2¥ 2326 


p/^*,? 


?f^ 
































































MARCH. 










/ 




"V 


X 














































/ 








^ 


^ 




«— ■ 


_^ 






















y 


K^ 


■ 


■^ 


^^ 




^ 


r 




















**** 












A 


y 


/ 














































^ 


> 










































y 


^ 








































































































































^ 




-^ 










y 


•^^ 
































-1^ 


y 










































/ 


^^ 


















































f 




























^- 


^ 








/" 




s, 








y 




/ 


'\ 






















/ 






\ 


^ 


Z' 








X 




X 


/ 




/ 


\ 


I 


















1 




























y 






\ 


_J 


''V 


t\ 












r" 
























/ 










^ 


^ 






K 




















9 


'-v, 


•^^ 










r 




















^ 




^ 


- 


r^ 


^ 


- 






7 




V 


X 






I 












































^ 


■-- 


/ 


















































































A\ 



Fig. 35.— Hydrographs, San Joaquin, March, 1907. A, Lathrop; B, Fhebaugh; C, Friant. 



l^'EET. 
23 

20 
15 
10 

5 



/2 


/3 


J^ 


/^ 


/6 


17 


18 


/9 


^o 


2/22 


23 


py 


a^ 


^£ 


^7 


2S 


?f 
















MARCI 


H 




























A 


















































































































































































































\ 




































\ 




































\ 




































\ 




































\ 




























A 






B. 


V 




























r 


vj 


* 




V 


*H, 




^* ' 


'''i 

1 


















/ 


y 


' 




\ 








1 
f 


















/ 


* 








' 


v^ 






1 
1 


















/. 


1 










^. 


"^ 


^ 


1 


















/ 


















S 


















/; 


















1 

1 


S- 








N 






A 


.' 






^ 


V 












% 


N 


\ 






^ 


<- 


, ]; 




\ 


N 


S, 


^ 




y 


'^ 


.^' 


\ 


\ 


V 






S 


zJ 


1 


r\ 


/ 








V 


.^ 


/^ 




\ 


^^ 


*•«. 


V 


"v 


*-,_ 






/ 


\ 


J 


















V. 




, 




^^ 


— 


*- 


f 
































































^1 



Fig. 36.— Hydrographs, March, 1907. A, Jacksonville; B, Melones; C, Merced Falls. 

77 



78 FLOODS OF SACRAMENTO AND SAN JOAQUIN WATERSHEDS. 



Hydrographs, San Joaquin system. 



FEET. 
10 

5 


/z 


/3 


/¥ 


/^ 


/& 


/7 


/8 /? 2.0 2/ 22 


23 


2^/ 


^6 26 


27 


28 


29 














MARCH. 






























A 




































/ 




































' 


































i 




































i 




































/ 


































A 


/ 




L 
































I 




V 




















/^ 


'\ 






1 




\f 














**" 




s 










\ 




J 






















-^ 


^ 










































^\ 



Fig. 37.— Hydrograph, March, 1907. Jenny Lind. 



FEET. 
18 

15 
10 
5 



/3 


/¥ 


/J 


/6 


/7 


/8 


/9 


70 


?/ 


^^ 


^3 


?y 


Pd 


P6 


27 


78 


?9 


30 


?/ 


/ 


Z 


3 


¥ 


^ 


6 


7 


rjl 


9 


/o 


// 


n 


/3 






















/ 


\ 


















































f' 


s 


\ 






> 






^ 




















































^ 


^ 


— 


/ 






















^ 






















^ 




















































"~" 




"^ 














j 






JANUARY. 




















FEBRUARY. 










1 
































































1 






























































^ 
































































/ 


















jf 


t. 












































/ 




^ 


\ 












( 


N 












































r 


/ 




\ 










1 


' 




\ 










































h 


f 




\ 


b 








J 






\ 






































> 


1 




I 






\ 








^ 


















^ 
























.^ 


/ 


L 




1 








s 


£ 


^ 


f • 




















^ 


s, 














__ 












' W 












/ 
/ 


( 
























< 


K 














/ 




\ 

\ 


1 
t 
















' 




\ 






































/ 

/ 




< 




/ 




* 


-^ 


.8 




/ 






'^ 


... 


-. 


, 






























/ 








r 


/ 










>-. 


* 














-> 


._. 


__ 


... 


• - 


^ 






.-» 


^ 


*■" 


-' 


' '* 


% 


















































v^ 
























A\ 



Fig. 38.— Hydrographs, San Joaquin, flood of 1909. A, Lathrop; B, Friant; C, Flrebaugh. 



FLOODS or SACRAMENTO AND SAN JOAQUIN WATERSHEDS. 79 



Hydrographs, San Joaquin flood, January, 1909. 



FEET. 
15 

10 

5 



9 


/o 


// 


/2 


/3 


/¥ /.S /6 17 /3 /<f 20 21 


22 


23 


2¥ 


2^ 












JANUARY. 






















A 
































\ 












», 


















J 


\ 










1 






















\ 










1 A^ 






















\ 










1 1 


1 

• 




















\ 










/ r 




















* ' 


L 










It 


















» 


\ 


V 










It 
















/ 


1 




\ 


V 








l\ 

1 « 
















; 


C 




« 
^ 


N 






















\: 


A 






ft 


^ 


1 






\ 






A 


A 




'• 


A 






« 


^ 
N 


Ni 






^ 


% 
% 


r** 




V 




J 


1 
1 




V 






\ 


*.> 


/^ 


Sfc 






« 
*, 




N 


*^ 


J 


•'/ 


\ 










r 


N 


L 






,'\ 








7 




1 


\, 












\ 






t 


•4 




1 

1 


/ 








V. 




*^> 


1 










/ 


^v 


\ , 


■r 


























A\ 



Fig. 39.— a, Jacksonville; B, Melones; C, Merced Falls. 



FEET. 
25 

20 

15 
10 

5 



// 


f2J 


3 /¥ 


/s 


/6 


7/ 


/8 


/9 


20 2 


1 22 


?3 


2¥ 


7^ 


?6 


27 


^ 


29 


30 


3/ 


/ 


2 


3 


¥ 


S 


6 7 


' 8 


f 


/o 


// 


/2 


/3 


/i^ 


fS 


/6 
















































































JANUARY. 
























FEBRUARY. 
















^ 
















































































\ 


























































































































































































































































































































\ 
















\ 




















































\ 
















\ 




















































\ 












1 




\ 






















































\ 














\ 


\ 
















j 


\ 






















<\ 












\ 


V 














\ 










i 






/ 


\ 






















P 


I 












\ 














\ 










\ 






/ 


\ 




































\ 
















y 








\ 






/ 
























1 


1 












' 
















\ 














/ 










/ 
















1 




























\ 








. I 














y 


T- 


















































, 


' 




J 








t 


/ 


















\ 




































r — 


\. 


/ 






V 


/ 




















\ 






J 








\ 
























































"^ 


A 


J 








\ 
















\ 




/ 






















\ 




y 


^ 






















\ 




/ 










\ 


/ 
























\ 




/ 




J 






















A 


/ 


































































J 


' 


n 


\, 












\ 






































J 


r^ 


\ 








/ 


/ 




\ 












\ 






































/ 




\ 










i 






V 








1 




"^ 


^ 


/" 




^ 




s 










/ 


-> 


s. 


y 


^N 


\ 


h 


f 




\ 






•. 


B 


/ 






\ 


s 




y 


■/-- 
















^ 


"S- 






^ 


r- 










V. 


^ 








^ 


^ 




y 


r - 






































































































































A\ 



Fig. 40.— Hydrographs San Joaquin flood, January and February, 1909. A, Bellota; B, Jenny Llnd. 



80 FLOODS OF SACRAMENTO AND SAN JOAQUIN WATERSHEDS. 

This I able, in luUlilion to its value in connection ^^'ith flood re- 
ports of this period, is of interest in sho\\^ng the daily precipitation 
in the Sacramento watershed during an exceptionally wet month. 

At Bellota, where the Calaveras is led into Mormon Slough, the 
river rose from 5 to 20 feet from the 12th to the 13th, and on the 12th 
reached a stage of 27 feet, the highest ever recorded at that point, 
resulting in serious floods over a large territory contiguous to Stock- 
ton, besides flooding portions of the city itself. All rivers in the San 
Joaquin watershed rose beyond their flood stages between the 14th 
and 15th and the San Joaquin itself, below the mouth of the Tuol- 
umne, remained above the danger point until near the end of the 
month. 

On the 14th of January the situation in the Sacramento Valley 
in connection with the great floods that occurred later first became 
serious. In order that conditions in the valley at this time be un- 
derstood, it may be stated that the first abnormal swell of the sea- 
son occurred between Colusa and Sacramento City between the 8th and 
11th of January. The southern edge of this swell had barely passed 
the last-named point before the American River, under the influence 
of heavy rains and melting snows in the large area drained by its 
numerous feeders, rose 13 feet in a night, and on the morning of the 
14th was carrying stages rangmg from 15 feet a few miles above its 
mouth to 24 feet near its first fork, a few miles above Folsom. Dur- 
ing the early morning of the loth the full force of the American flood 
wave reached the Sacramento River with a volume sufficient to dis- 
lodge some of the bridges that spanned the American near Sacra- 
mento. The gauge at Sacramento registered 24.9 feet at 7 a. m. of 
the 15th, but a higher reading must have occurred sometime between 
midnight and 4 a. m., or during the period of the passing of the Ameri- 
can wave. Tlie Sacramento continued to rise at Sacramento City 
until 12.30 a. m. of the 17th, when it reached a stage of 29.6 feet. 
This is the highest stage of which there is an authentic record. In 
the meanwhile the heavy rams throughout the drainage basins of 
both watersheds had swollen all watercourees beyond their carrying 
capacities, and many points on the main rivers were being flooded. 

On January 16, it was estimated that the Sacramento River was 
carrying a flood wave from 1 to 2 feet above what may be termed 
the "danger point" from Red Bluff to Courtland, a distance of over 
200 miles. 

^^y the morning of the 17tli the Sacramento River between Sacra- 
mento and Wnhuit Cirove felt the relief afforded by the escapmir 
watei-s through breaks in tlie west side levees, but the flooded area 
above, especially in the vicinity of MonroeviUe and St. John was 
mcreasmg. By S a. in. ,.f this ,hite the town of Broderick, just 
lUToss the river from Saeniniento. had mostly become inundated 
from the l)aek water of Yolo Basin. 




05 

o 



LlJ 
> 

z 
< 

o 

liJ 



UJ 
> 

o 

UJ 
(D 
Q 

(T 
GO 



O 
< 

Q. 



lO 



81870°— Bull. 43—13 6 




d 

I- 
z 
u 

< 

o 
< 

CO 



CO 

o 
a 

Q. 

O 
z 

CO 

< 

CQ 



O 

> 



CJ> 

o 



UJ 

o 

o 
o 



CD 



g 

Li. 





CD 
O 
CT> 

U. 
O 

Q 
O 
O 



< 

o 

< 
CO 

LlJ 

H 

CO 

O 

Q. 
CL 

o 



CQ 



O 



o 
O 

> 
< 

< 

CC 



o 
< 

Q- 



UJ 

I 
t- 

o 
CO 



r- 
^ 



u. 



FLOODS OF SACRAMENTO AND SAK JOAQUIN WATERSHEDS. 81 

On the 18th the river at Sacramento had subsided to 28 feet, but 
by night of this date the flood waters of the Sacramento and those of 
the San Joaquin were rapidly approaching the delta. By the 19th 
the great volume of water that had accumulated in Yolo Basin began 
finding its way back into the Sacramento through Steamboat Slough 
and thence into the Lower San Joaquin through the various sloughs 
that connect the two rivers in the vicinity of the Lower Islands, 
so called. 

From the 19th to the 27th inclusive flood conditions prevailed 
throughout all districts contiguous to the junction of the Sacramento 
and San Joaquin Rivers, and during this period many agricultural 
tracts and islands were either partly or wholly flooded. (See list 
of lands flooded in the '^Island districts," p. 91.) 

The January flood had barely subsided before heavy rains in the 
upper Sacramento Valley resulted in damaging floods in the valley 
north of Colusa. On February 3, all low lands lying between Tehama 
and Hamilton were under water, and the river between Redding and 
Monroeville, a distance of 99 miles, was carrying more water than 
during the floods of March, 1907, or those of January, 1909. In the 
vicinity of St. John, Monroeville, and Hamilton and thence eastward 
nearly to the town of Chico, it was estimated that fully 100,000 acres 
of land were submerged. Tehama was almost completely flooded, 
there being nearly 10 feet of water in some of the lower sections of 
the town. 

There was little effect of the upper Sacramento flood felt below 
Colusa on account of the fact that the river flowed freely into the 
various basins through the breaks caused by the floods of the preced- 
ing month. Yolo Basin, however, was fuller than at any time during 
the previous floods, and it has been stated that the discharge of this 
sink into the Sacramento River above Rio Vista was sufficient to re- 
verse the current of the Sacramento for a considerable distance above 
the mouth of Steamboat Slough. 

From many reports that have been received from all sections cov- 
ered by the floods those of 1909 were the most general and wide- 
spread of any previous inundations. They were as disastrous as any 
previous flood of which there is an authentic history, and probably more 
so, for the reason that, in addition to the large number of old levees 
broken, there were many new districts in process of reclamation which 
were inadequately protected by levees not yet completed. It has 
been estimated that over 300,000 acres of land were, at various 
times flooded during the January and February floods of 1909. The 
map reproduced in this bulletin as figure 48, p. 90, through the courtesy 
of the Great West, from data furnished by the l)ureau, shows approxi- 
mately the area that was flooded in the Sacramento VaUey during 
the floods of 1907 and 1909. 



82 FLOODS OF SACRAMENTO AND SAN JOAQUIN WATERSHEDS. 



THE FLOODS OF JANUARY AND FEBRUARY, 1911. 

On January 30, 1911, heavy, warm rains began falling in the head- 
waters of the tributaries of the San Joaquin^ which resulted in the 
greatest flood in the history of the Lower San Joaquin VaUey. 

Daily precipitation at selected stations in the San Joaquin watersheds Jan. 20 to Jan. 

31, 1911. 
[See hydrographs, figs. 41 to 43, for this period.] 



Date. 


Fire- 
baugh. 


North 
Fork. 


Merced 
Falls. 


Friant. 


Yosem- 
ite 


Jack- 
son- 
ville. 


Me- 
lonas. 


La- 
throp. 


Elec- 
tra. 


Jenny 
Lind. 


Elevation feet.. 


154 


3,000 


321 


355 


3,945 


602 


750 


19 


670 




Jan. 20 


0.36 
.00 
.00 
.00 
.40 
.34 
.00 
.00 
.00 
.18 

1.20 
.60 


0.85 

.23 

.00 

.00 

3.20 

2.60 

.00 

.00 

.35 

2.12 

2.86 

1.57 


0.17 
.91 
.00 
.00 
.74 
.77 
.04 
.Ot 
.05 
.17 
2.73 
2.30 


0.05 
.34 
.00 
.00 
.64 

1.28 
.12 
.00 
.02 
.20 

1.84 

1.08 


0.40 
.01 
.00 
.00 
.90 
.79 
.00 
.00 
.27 
.48 

1.20 
.06 


0.44 

1.30 

.00 

.00 

1.04 

2.20 

.32 

.10 

.20 

.46 

3.50 

3.06 


1.10 

1.34 

.00 

.00 

1.28 

2.00 

.26 

.22 

.46 

.36 

4.40 

3.02 


0.36 
.72 
.00 
.00 
.74 
.82 
.12 
.12 
.00 
.32 
.92 
.55 


1.26 

1.34 

.00 

.00 

1.46 

1.60 

.82 

.62 

.22 

.44 

3.42 

2.80 


0.94 


Jan. 21 


.00 


Jan. 22 


.00 


Jan. 23 


.00 


Jan. 24 


1.16 


Jan. 25 


.82 


Jan. 26 


.46 


Jan. 27 


.04 


Jan. 28 


.20 


Jan. 29 


.40 


Jan. 30 


2.40 


Jan. 31 


1.62 






Sum 


3.08 


13.8 


7.92 


5. 57 


4. 14 


12.6 


14.4 


4.67 


14.0 


8.04 



About 24 hours after the beginning of the rains the flood waters 
of the Merced, Stanislaus, and Tuolumne Rivers had practically 
reached the main stream, and three flood waves of great intensity 
began moving down the San Joaquin. The combined force of these 
waves reached the lowlands in the vicinity of Lathrop and San 
Joaquin Bridge during the day of February 1, and by night of this 
date many thousands of acres of land became flooded. Many head 
of stock were drowned between Mendota and Lathrop, and in the 
vicinity of San Joaquin Bridge there were many residences either 
washed away or else undermined. It has been estimated that ten 
thousand or more acres were under water between Firebaugh and 
Lathrop. By the morning of February 2 the flood waters had 
spread over a large territory between Lathrop and Roberts Island, 
destroying a number of levees and inundating several thousand 
acres of reclaimed land. In the meanwhile the Mokelumne had 
poured its flood waters into the lowlands, doing considerable damage. 
During this flood the Calaveras overflowed its banks after reaching 
Mormon Slough and flooded several thousand acres of land between 
Bellota and Stockton. The city itself was probably saved from one 
of the most disastrous floods in its history by a diverting canal, 
which deflected the water of Mormon Slough and carried it down 
into the Calaveras proper below Stockton. It has been conserva- 
tively estimated that fully 75,000 acres of land were overflowed in 
the San Joaquin Valley between Stockton and Mendota and in the 
vicinity of Bellota and Linden during the floods of January and 
February, 1911. 



FLOODS OF SACRAMENTO AND SAN JOAQUIN WATERSHEDS. 83 

Hydrographs, San Joaquin flood, January-February, 1911. 



FT, 

22 
20 

15 

10 

5 




20 


?/ 


22 


23\F¥\2^6\p7)^g 


?f 


;<7 


3/ i 


' 2 


3 


^ 


S 


^ 


7 


T 


f /0|//|/2|/J 


/^ 


/J- 


16 


t7 


/^ 


/? 


^tf?/|^^|?J| 












































































JANUARY. 


















FEBRUARY. 














































r>. 




































































\ 




































































N 


L 




































































\ 
































































] 






s 






























































J 








N 


•^ 


























































/ 














'*«. 


"S 




















































/ 


















'^ 




i«. 


^^ 




































A 


«J 






/ 
































*^ 




^, 
























/ 




^ 


^ 








































'^ 


^ 




- 














/ 












.. 


^ 




















































/ 










/>. 


t 
t 




' V 




























































i 


A 












^-. 






































t 


■N 




J 










1 


/' 


\ 












■^ 


* % ^ 


































f 




^ 


/ 










j 


i 


















*^ 


\ 




























/ 










B 






1 


1 




















^ 


-^ 


9 \ 


































t 


''''* 






/ ; 


























1 


«• 


•*, 


















^ 


/ 










1 




1 




/,' 


































» 


























» 




t 












































*"■ 


*•' 


», 












/> 






« 


« J 






\ 






S 


s,^ 














































r; 


\ 
























«^ 
































__ 




^ 


f 


^ 




\ 


•s^ 


^ 




— 








— 




— 




— 








■"" 


•S" 





V 


^ 


^ 




— 


_ 


^ 


,^ 


^ 


Ld 




^ 


^ 








—J 






— ' 








^ 




^ 




— -J 








'— ' 


' ' 


I— ' 




' — ' 


I— ' 




'— ' 


'^ 


' — ' 


^ 



Fig. 41.— Hydrographs San Joaquin flood, 1911. A, Lathrop; B, Firebaugh; C, Friant. 



FEET 
20 

15 
10 

5 
■0 


23 


?¥ 


^,5" 


^^ 


?7 


28 


2f 


30 


3/ 


/ 


2 


3 


^ 


s 


6 


7 


8 


9 


/O 


// 


fZ 




JANUARY. 








Fl 


EBRUARY. 






























































> 


'N 








































/ 




V 






































/ 




\ 




























A 










/ 




\ 




























A 






■ 








\ 




























M 






































i 1 












f\ 


























/ 










i' i 


'' 




























/ 


\ 








J 


/ 






\ 
























/ 




L 






/ 


/ 






\ 
























f 




\ 


^ 




7^ 


r 






\ 






A 


% 






















\ 


\^ 


f i 








\ 


V 


A 


r 


A 


^ 












' 










\ 




1 




\ 


/ 






\ 








A 




i 




B 








/ 






I 
















\ 


J 


\ 




/ 


/ 


^> 


V 






1 






\ 
















\ 


J 




^ 


/ 


/ 




\ 












\ 


\ 
















</ 






H 






V 












\ 






















J 








\ 


— / 














*^ 




-^ 


B 








/^ 


-^ 


r 




































^ 






'— ^1 













































Fig. 42.— Hydrographs, January and February, 1911. A, Bellota; B, Jenny Lind. 



84 FLOODS OF SACRAMENTO AND SAN JOAQUIN WATERSHEDS. 



Hydrographs, San Joaquin flood, January-February , 1911 — Continued. 



FT. 
25 

20 
15 

10 
5 


20 


21 


?2 


23 


2¥ 


;?^ 


?6 


?7 


26 


2f303 


/ / 


^ 


3 


^ 


s 


6 


7 


8 


? 


/o 


// 


/^ 


/3 










J 


A 


N. 








/\ 












F 


E 


B. 
































r 














































































































































1 


















































































































































, 






























































































































































































































































































r 


\ 














































I 


y 














































1 


















































\ 
















































'\ 


































i 


•\ 










i-^ 


\v 


V 
































/ 


> 


i 








/ 


\\ 


\ 
































/ 




\ 






/ 




\^ 


^ 


_ 


I*-, 




















^ 




j 


' J 


■v 


\ 


A 




I 




N 


s] 




^N 


^ 


















~i 


K 


J 


fi 


V 


k 


V. 


J 


n 


V 






V 


^ 






^ 




•^ 




^ 


^ 




^ 


V 


</ 


'I 


\ 


\ 


R 




/I 


\ 














^ 






r\_ 








> 


s^ 


/ 


j 


> 


\, 


V. 


^ 


1 






s. 


^, 














w^ 




^ 




_z 


-N 






/ 




\ 


£. 


> 


/ 










^*" 








i__i 




.mmm 





-^ 


^ 


T 




•^^ 


=BS^ 






































1 







A\ 



Fig. 43.— a, Jacksonville; B, Melones; C, Merced Falls. 



FLOODS OF SACRAMENTO AND SAN JOAQUIN WATERSHEDS. 85 

River conditions in the Sacramento Valley again became critical 
in March, 1911, and a stage of 27.4 feet was recorded at Colusa on 
the 9th of that month. Heavy rains in the foothills that form the 
western boundary of Colusa Basin resulted in what is known as the 
' 'Trough" of this basin, reaching the highest stage ever before known. 
The water in this trough continued to menace the back levees that 
protected it from the foothill drainage, and finally, on April 25, 
1911, those which protected reclamation No. 108 gave way, flooding 
25,000 acres of land, the most of which was planted to grain, the 
entire crop being destroyed. 

From April, 1911, to January 28, 1912, the date of this report, 
there have been no floods in the central valleys of California. 

WARNINGS. 

During all the floods that occurred in 1907, 1909, and 1911 the 
Weather Bureau issued warnings to every point involved from 
12 hours to as much as 3 days in advance of the approach of the 
flood waters. Advices from the bureau regarding the great floods 
that prevailed in the delta lands of the Sacramento and San Joaquin 
Rivers in 1907 and 1909 not only indicated the intensity of the floods, 
but timed their approach within a couple of hours three days in 
advance. 

The table below shows approximately the losses that were sus- 
tained in the Sacramento and San Joaquin Valleys during the floods 
of 1904, 1907, 1909, and 1911, and the amount that was saved by 
reason of the warnings that were issued by the Weather Bureau 
during those of 1907, 1909, and 1911. 

Losses in the Central Valleys of California During the 
Floods of 1904, 1907, and 1909. 

From reliable reports, and from data which have been gathered 
from time to time during the past four years, it is estimated that 
losses due to floods in the drainage basins of the Sacramento and 
San Joaquin Valleys during the floods noted above aggregate over 
$10,000,000. 

The losses have been divided as follows: 

Buildings $200, 000 

Lumber 75, 000 

Levees 3, 500, 000 

Stock 200, 000 

County roads 1, 000, 000 

County bridges 900, 000 

Railroads, including roadbeds and bridges 2, 000, 000 

Crops destroyed 1, 250, 000 

Damage to lands by erosion 500, 000 

Losses sustained by suspension of business 200, 000 

From all other causes 500, 000 

Total 10, 325, 000 



86 FLOODS OF SACRAMENTO AND SAN JOAQUIN WATERSHEDS. 

The amount saved during the floods of 1907 and 1909 by reason 
of the timely warnings that were issued by the Weather Bureau 
aggregate close to $2,000,000. This amount is quoted from esti- 
mates that have been received from all sections covered by the 
floods. It has been admitted that the amount saved would have 
been much greater had the warnings been heeded in all cases. 

THE FLOOD PLANE OF THE SACRAMENTO RIVER. 

In studying the tables of high stages in the Sacramento River at 
Sacramento City and at other points in the Sacramento Valley, it 
will be noted that the flood plane has become higher each year; that 
since the high water of 1850 almost each succeeding flood has been 
higher than that of its predecessor. In fact, the expression so often 
heard among river men to the effect that the rivers are rising higher 
each year has, up to the flood of 1909, become a recognized fact. 

The ever-increasing flood plane in the Sacramento River at all 
points above the mouth of the Feather is, no doubt, due (1) to the 
increased height and strength of the levees along the river banks, 
and (2) the constant enlargement of reclamation areas. Both of 
these causes have, at most points, restricted the natural bed of the 
river to a channel at no time wide enough to carry its discharge 
under extreme conditions. The same may be said of the Lower 
Sacramento, American, Feather, Bear, and Yuba Rivers, except that 
the predominating cause in the raising of the high-water plane in 
these streams is the amount of mining debris that has been deposited 
in their beds. Until March 1, 1893, when a law was passed restrict- 
ing hydraulic mining, millions of cubic yards of debris were annually 
being dumped into the upper reaches of these rivers; and, as it slowly 
found its way downstream, the finer particles advancing at moderate 
stages and the coarser and heavier matter moving farther and farther 
down with each succeeding high water or freshet, it not only became 
a serious menace to the agricultural lands on both sides of the rivere 
by causing overflows at moderate stages, but affected the naviga- 
bility of the lower Sacramento River and for a time practically 
eliminated the Feather River from its mouth to its junction with the 
Yuba as a navigable stream. 

According to notes kindly furnished by Mr. W. T. Ellis, jr., member 
of the State I'oclamation board, and for many years president of the 
Marysville Levee Commission, both the Feather and Yuba Rivers 
were navigable for a considerable distance above ^larysville in the 
early days of the State's history. This is evidenced by the fact that 
in 1849 the steamer Linda came around the Horn from an Atlantic 
port and made a trip up the Yuba for a distance of 4 miles above 
Marysville. In notes, also furnished by ^Ir. Ellis, it is stated that 
the steamer Phoenix made a trip up the Yuba as far as Owsleys Bar 



Floods of sacramento aIstd san joaquin watersheds. 8Y 

in 1854. In fact, it is a matter of authentic record that before the 
Feather and Yuba were filled with mining debris Marysville was the 
natural distributing point for the northern mining section of the 
State. It is of record at Marysville that on August 27, 1850, there 
were 24 sailing vessels in the ''port" of Marysville, and on August 22, 
1851, there arrived at Marysville 7 steamers with full cargoes. 
In the news columns of the Sacramento Bee of February 16, 1862, 
it is noted that the steamer Defiance made several trips to Oroville 
with freight during the months of January and February, 1862. 

As an illustration of the depth of the bed of the river at Marysville 
before the filling in by mining debris, Mr. Ellis states that it is a 
matter of record that during the great flood of 1861-62, when almost 
the entire Sacramento Valley was inundated, including the city of 
Sacramento, the flood waters did not reach what was then and is 
still the main business portion of Marysville. While there are no 
records of the discharge of the flood waters at that time, they were, 
no doubt, much greater than those of 1907. It is of record that the 
rainfall at Nevada City during the winter of 1861-62 was 115 inches, 
and assuming that the same amount occurred at corresponding 
elevations in the Feather- Yuba watershed, makes it almost certain 
that the discharge of 1861-62 was far in excess of the 1907 and 1909 
floods, when Marysville experienced considerable difficulty in pro- 
tecting itself from overflow. 

According to reports of engineers during the first 20 years of unre- 
stricted hydraulic mining, from 1849 to 1869, the low-water plane 
of the Sacramento River at Sacramento City was raised 2.9 feet; 
that during the next 10 years, 1869 to 1879, the rise of this plane 
was doubled. Some engineers claim that the low-water plane from 
1849 to 1900 was raised fully 7 feet. Col. Mendell, in his report, 
states that as a consequence of the elevation of the bed of the Sacra- 
mento River the tidal influence which in 1849 extended up as high 
as the mouth of the Feather, 25 miles above Sacramento, and was 
quite 2 feet at Sacramento, is now no longer noticeable above Han- 
cock Shoals, 9 miles below Sacramento. 

Capt. Thomas H. Jackson, United States Corps of Engineers, in 
connection with his examination and survey of the Sacramento 
River from its mouth to the Feather in 1908, states as follows: 

A comparison of this survey with that of 1895-96 shows that the river is improving 
as a navigable channel; that it is recovering from the effects of hydraulic mining. 
It is estimated that the river bed for a distance of 14 miles below Sacramento has 
lowered 2 feet within the past 12 years. The American and Feather Rivers, however, 
are still full of debris, and the effect of the sand deposits in the American River on 
the Sacramento River are noticeable for a considerable distance below the mouth of 
that river, and the fact that these two rivers contain probably more than 500,000,000 
cubic yards of material, all of which must eventually pass down the Sacramento River 
to Suisun Bay, must be borne in mind in any consideration of the improvement of 
the river. 



88 FLOODS OF Sacramento and san joaquin watersheds. 

It is quite evident, however, that there has been a further improve- 
ment ill the bed of the Sacramento Kiver in the vicinity of Sacramento 
City and, no doubt, for some distance below, since the rioods of 
1909, as during the low-water period of 1910 it was noted that 
the tides extended quite to the mouth of the American Kiver, and 
at times swelled the Sacramento River m the vicinity of Sacramento 
City as much as 0.4 foot. During August and September, 1912, 
when the river at Sacramento probably reached the lowest point in 
the history of the city, tides exceeding 1 foot were noted. 

Flood Basins of the Sacramento River. 

Numerous basins on both sides of the Sacramento River have at 
all times exercised a modifying influence on the floods in this stream 
by freely admitting the overflow, either through weirs constructed 
for this purpose or through breaks in the levees. On the east side 
of the river are four distinct depressions known as Butte, Sutter, 
American, and Sacramento Basins. In a report of the commissioner 
of public works to the governor of California in 1894, which report is 
quoted in a paper before the American Society of Engineers, by W. B. 
Clapp and others, the following areas and capacities of these basins 
are given: Butte Basin is north of MarysviUe Butte and has an area 
of from 30 to 150 square miles, depending upon the river stage, and a 
capacity of 460,000 acre-feet at flood stages. It discharges through 
Butte Slough into Sutter Basin. Sutter Basin is south of MarysviUe 
Butte and north of the Feather River. It has an area of 138 square 
miles and a capacity of 890,000 acre-feet at flood stages. It discharges 
through sloughs mto the Sacramento River above the mouth of the 
Feather. The American flood basin is south of the Feather and 
north of the American. It has an area of 110 square miles and a 
capacity of 571,000 acre-feet at flood stage. It discharges into the 
Sacramento River north of the city of Sacramento. This basm is of 
considerable depth at its lowest point, and even during the extreme 
low water of 1912 contained a large amount of water. At the present 
time practically all of the American Basin is being leveed with a view 
to its complete reclamation, and it is expected that it will eventually 
be eliminated as a flood basui. The Sacramento Basin, so-called, is 
a narrow depression south of the American and extends thence south- 
ward nearly to Walnut Grove. Its area and capacity have not been 
determined. In fact this basin, if such it may bo called, has long ago 
been reclaimed although its lower or southern end is liable to overflow 
from the Mokelumne River, when this stream is out of bank, and from 
the Sacramento in the event that its east side levees give way. Yolo 
Basin, on the west si(h^ of the SacranuMito River, wjis originally one 
unbroken de])ressi()n extending from vStoiiy C^re(^k on tlu^ north to the 



FLOODS OF SACKAMENTO AND SAN JOAQUIN WATERSHEDS. 89 

mouth of Cache Slough on the south, but it is now divided into two 
well-defined basins by a ridge that was formed by overbank flow and 
sediment deposit from the original channel of Cache Creek, which at 
one time discharged direct into the Sacramento Kiver. This ridge 
terminates just north of Knights Landing and extends back toward 
the foothills. North of this ridge is now known as Colusa Basm and 
south of it is Yolo Basin. Quoting from the Report of Public Works 
in 1894, Yolo Basin is 50 miles long and 7 miles wide with a capacity 
of 1,115,000 acre-feet. It discharges into Cache Creek and thence 
into the Sacramento River through Steamboat Slough. 

Colusa Basin is some 45 miles long and from 2 to 7 miles wide, w^h 
a capacity of 690,000 acre-feet at flood stage. Until within the past 
few years Colusa Basin discharged into the Sacramento through Syca^ 
more Slough, but the various processes of reclamation have alto-, 
gether altered flood conditions both with regard to the water that 
flows in from the western hills and that from the river. A back 
levee protects the basm from the hill water and a canal between this 
levee and the hills now carries the hill drainage into the Sacramento 
near a point where the lower Sycamore Slough once joined the river 
at Knights Landmg. During the floods of 1907 and 1909 the water 
that escaped into Colusa Basin from the Sacramento side, where many 
levees broke, flowed over KJiights Landing Ridge into the Yolo Basin. 
Colusa Basin has, however, been almost entirely if not quite reclaimed 
and has practically been eliminated as a flood basin. Plans have 
been made for the cuttuig of Knights Landing Ridge which, in con- 
nection with the west side canal, will make a branch river to which aU 
hifl streams will be tributary, leading them down into and eventuaUy 
through Yolo Basin. 

During the 1907 and 1909 floods the protecting levees on the west 
side of the Feather River, about opposite Marysville Butte, were 
destroyed by an enormous rush of water which flowed overbank at 
Hamilton Bend. This water came across the plains to the north of 
the buttes with such force and volume as to rush directly across the 
flooded Sacramento River, and after tearing out the west side leveed 
it continued down through Colusa Basin, leaving destruction in its 
wake. During the 1907 flood the water in Colusa Basin was level 
with the crest of Ejiights Landmg Ridge, but in 1909, according to 
measurements made by Mr. G. B. Herington, consulting engineer, Sac- 
ramento, CaL, it flowed 4 feet deep over the ridge into Yolo Basin. 
It was the backwater from this overflow that flooded Knights Landing 
during the 1909 flood and that kept that town under water for about 
41 days. Massive levees have now replaced those that were demol- 
ished at Hamilton Bend, and it is not thought that Colusa Basin 
will again be menaced by the Feather River. (For map of overflowed 
region; see fig. 48, p. 90.) 



90 FLOODS OF SACRAMENTO AND SAN JOAQUIN WATERSHEDS. 



FLOODETD 
JAN 1909 

FLOODED 
MARCH 1907 




Fi(i. 4.S.— Inundated region in Sacramento Valley. • 



floods of saceamento and san joaquin watersheds. 91 
Delta Lands of the Sacramento and San Joaquin. 

In the lower reaches of the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers 
are numerous low tracts of land and many islands, all of which 
have been built up by silt from both streams. Some of the islands 
are composed of a combination of silt and peat. The reclamation 
of these lands, which are the most productive on earth, has necessi- 
tated the erection of levees not only strong enough to withstand a 
long siege of high water, but also to resist the action of winds and 
tides, both of which are strong factors during periods of high water. 

On account of the numerous islands that are separated from the 
mainland and the many tracts that are dissected by sloughs and 
other waterways, and the wide range of tides in the lower districts, 
no Weather Bureau gages have been established in the delta below 
Rio Vista. Mr. W. E. Meek, a prominent citizen of Antioch, with 
large agricultural interests in the island districts, made measurements 
in parts of the lower San Joaquin River during the floods of 1907, 
1909, and 1911. 

In comparing the floods in the delta of 1907 and 1909, Mr. Meek 
states that the highest water reached in 1907 was exceeded by that 
of 1909 in all of the lower districts. In the San Joaquin River above 
Stockton, however, the crest of the 1907 flood was about 0.5 of a foot 
higher. During the 1911 floods the water in the lower San Joaquin 
between Stockton and Mendota was between 2 and 3 feet higher 
than ever before recorded. But, as stated by Mr. Meek, it did not 
come within 18 inches as high in 191 1 as it did in 1909 on the foUo wing- 
named islands : Andrus, Bradford, Jersey, Sherman, and Twitchel. 

The foUowing-named lands in the delta were flooded in 1907: An- 
drus Island," Bethel tract," Bouldin Island," Brannan Island, Burke 
tract, B3rron tract, Clifton Court tract, Coney Island, Elmwood 
tract, Franks tract, Jersey Island," lower Jones tract, Lower Sher- 
man Island," Moss tract, Ridge tract, Ryer Island, Sargent Burn- 
hardt tract. Statin Island, Stone tract, Terminus District, Twitchel 
Island," Tyler Island, Venice Island," Victoria Island, and Webber 
tract, aggregating 130,744 acres. 

Conclusion. 

During the past few years large interests have recognized the 
ultimate value of all reclaimable lands in the central valleys of Cali- 
fornia. In the Sacramento Valley especially millions of doUars are 
now being applied to the work of reclaiming the various flood basins 
heretofore considered as waste land. According to the Report on 
the Control of Floods in the River Systems of the Sacramento and 
San Joaquin Valleys, published in 1911, there are 48 reclamation 

o Also flooded in 1909. 



92 FLOODS OF SACRAMENTO AND SAN JOAQUIN WATERSHEDS. 

districts in the Sacramento Valley itself. Reports on 41 of these 
districts, with an area of 217,904 acres, showed on July 1, 1909, that 
205,423 acres have been completely reclaimed and 99,376 acres 
partly reclaimed by the construction of 521 miles of levees. To 
these figures should now be added nearly 200,000 acres, as since 1909 
the reclamation of Colusa Basin has been practically completed, 
about 12,000 acres on the west side of the river opposite Sacramento 
City have been reclaimed, 90,000 acres, comprising the American 
Basin and other low lands east of the Sacramento and between the 
Bear and American Rivers, are in process of reclamation, and tenta- 
tive plans are afoot for the reclaiming of 60,000 acres within Sutter 
Basin. 

Immense levees, practically impregnable, now skirt the Feather 
River from Vernon to a point near Marys ville, and on the south side 
of the Bear River from its mouth to a point near Wheatland. These 
levees will not only confine the flood waters of the Bear and Feather 
Rivers, but will result in a reduction of the time it formerly took 
them to reach the main stream. 

During the floods of 1907 and 1909 the overflow waters of the 
Feather, Yuba, and Bear Rivers escaped freely into Butte, Sutter, 
and American Basins, which not only tended to flatten out the flood 
wave of the Feather River below the mouth of the Bear, but delayed 
its approach to the mouth of the American River until the crest of 
the flood wave of this stream had passed into the Sacramento below 
Sacramento City. 

Under present conditions it is estimated that flood water in the 
lower Feather River will reach the mouth of the American at least 
two hours earlier than heretofore, provided, of course, that it is not 
drawn off into Yolo Basin either by the breaking of the west side 
Sacramento River levees or through artificial by-passes of sufficient 
width and capacity to materially lower the water level m the main 
stream. 

o 



